BALL-AND-CLAW FOOT - Carved-foot motif that depicts a crane's claw gripping a ball or an egg. While it is most associated with 18th-century English and American furniture, it originated in China as a dragon's claw clutching either a crystal ball or a pearl or other jewel.
 

BALUSTER - Small turned, square, or flat column that supports a rail; also used to form chair backs.
 

BAROQUE - Name given to the 17th-century exaggerated style that originated in Rome. Massive and heavily decorated, it is an extension of ornamental Renaissance style and is characterized by a lack of restraint manifested in large, irregular, even fantastic curves, twisted columns, elaborate scrolls, and oversize moldings.
 

BASSINET - Bed for a baby, originally basket shaped.
 

BENTWOOD - Wood that is bent while wet into curved chair parts. Michael Thonet (1796 - 1871) of Vienna is the best-known producer of bentwood furniture and a pioneer in mass production. Bentwood is not related to molded plywood, a 20th-century innovation.
 

BERGÈRE - Armchair in which the sides, from the seat to the armrests, as well as the seat and back, are upholstered.
 

BIEDERMEIER - A furniture style of German derivation in the first half of the 19th century and named after "Papa Biedermeier," a cartoon character that represented the well-to-do, uncultured middle class. The furniture is often plain and blocklike in form and borrows freely from many styles, particularly French Empire, adding strength and comfort at the expense of grace and refinement.
 

BLOCK FOOT - The square end of an untapered leg.
 

BOMBÉ - Chest or commode with a bulge or swollen, convex shape on the front and sides.
 

BUFFET - Sideboard or "dresser" for the dining room, designed to hold platters and serving dishes.