Label this Chippendale interior: which term describes a curved-back seat with a bow-shaped silhouette?

• A. Chinoiserie
• B. Oxbow Chippendale chair
• C. Chippendale tilt top pie crust tea table
• D. Ball and claw foot

Answer: (B)

Recognizing furniture silhouettes within the Chippendale repertoire. The curved-back seat with a bow-shaped outline is the oxbow-back chair. Its back rail sweeps in a shallow arch, producing a continuous bow that defines the piece and sets it apart from straighter-backed chairs or other forms. This silhouette is a specific chair variation within Chippendale furniture and is associated with the refined, curvilinear aesthetics of late 18th-century English interiors. It isn’t describing decorative style like chinoiserie, which refers to motifs rather than form; nor is it describing a table (tilt-top pie crust tea table); nor the feet on a chair (ball and claw foot). So the term that best fits a curved-back seat with a bow-shaped silhouette is the oxbow-back chair.