The serpent strapwork and snail-like creatures flanking the cresting are two of the most distinctive features of Lake District furniture. Distinctive forms appear on dated furniture continuously from as early as the 1620's until s late as the 1740's. (See Victor Chinnery, Oak Furniture The British Tradition, Woodbridge, 1979, pp.487-9, pls.4.169, 4.170a, 4.170b and 4.173)