"Neat and plain" style chairs, in contrast to elaborately carved high-style chairs, formed the mainstay of many cabinetmakers' businesses in colonial Virginia, offering customers a more affordable, yet still fashionable, seating option. In this example, the heart-and-rib pierced splat, a pattern particularly favored by cabinetmakers from the Fredericksburg, Virginia area, as well as the scrolled tablet on the crest rail accent the otherwise simple form of the chair. Roman numerals carved into the rear seat rail indicate that it was originally part of a larger set. It has a history of ownership by George Washington's mother, Mary Ball Washington (1708-1789).