Colonial, Pilgrim, and Early American all name the first distinct period of American furniture — the work of the earliest settlements, carrying Jacobean forms remembered from England and built from whatever native wood a colony could fell. The turned great chairs now called Brewster and Carver chairs belong to this moment.
Design Elements
- Ornamental relief carving
- Chunky turned legs and finials
- Raised panels
- Inlays, including mother-of-pearl
- Pegged and mortise-and-tenon joinery
- Native woods — oak, pine, maple, cherry, birch, and fruitwoods