With its shaped crest and wings, flared back-kicked legs and forward thrusting front cabriole legs, this chair represents the height of both Philadelphia carving and the assymmetric aesethetic embodied in the 18th century Rococo. Originally intended as invalid chairs in their 17th century incarnation, these forms, by the middle of the 18th century, had become both a highly desireable status symbol to be displayed prominently within the best room of the house, as well as an opportunity for the carver and upholsterer to display their art. The chair frame alone, with "Claw Feet and Leaves on Knees" was approximately #3-5, with the cost of stuffing and upholstering the form multiplying the expense of the chair considerably (Roque, American Furniture at Chipstone, (Madison, 1984), p. 206).

The carving on the knee of the chair illustrated here is particularly distinct not only for the flared and back-twisting acanthus leaves of each return, but also for the high-relief astragal reserve surrounding the central pendant flowerette. An identical chair with raked back legs and astragal and acanthus-carved cabriole legs is in the collection of Chipstone, and is illustrated and discussed in Roque, p. XXXV, no. 95, accession 1953.1. In addition, a sidechair in the collection of Winterthur Museum is directly related as well (see Hummel, A Winterthur Guide to American Chippendale Furniture: Middle Atlantic and Southern Colonies, (Winterthur, 1976), p. 74-75, fig. 69 and 69a). Employing the same astragal and acanthus carved knee, the Winterthur sidechair may be one of a set made for Thomas Fisher of Wakefield, a probable relative of the second owner of this easy chair. The chair illustrated here is recorded in the Winterthur Library: Decorative Arts Photographic Collection, accession no. 71.599.