This armchair is attributed to the shop of John Henry Belter, a German immigrant craftsman who came to New York City and by 1844 was listed in city directories as a cabinetmaker with his own shop. The distinctive furniture style which Belter evolved was so widespread that work in a similar vein by other cabinetmakers was known as "Belter furniture." Belter made many sets of seating furniture using the same pattern but with slight variations in the carved motifs. Pierced and carved furniture in openwork "arabesques" incorporating naturalistic motifs such as acorns, grapes, flowers, and leaves within a sinuous framework reveals an inventive design which Belter called "Arabasket." This chair is laminated in seven-part layers of veneer.