This type of Roman shield-back chair is referred to as a 'Banister back chair' in Messrs A. Hepplewhite & Co's, Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide, 1788. The ribbon-fret splats of these chairs with their cusped arches related to Hepplewhite's pattern plate 3. A related chair, with similar splat linked by a Gothic arch, is illustrated J. Kirk, American Furniture and the British Tradition to 1830, New York, 1982, no 1049