This neoclassical recamier or chaise longue was part of a large suite of rosewood-grained and gilt furniture purchased in New York by wealthy entrepreneur William Croghan for the ballroom of his magnificent Pittsburgh house "Picnic" on Black Horse Hill, now Stanton Heights. Painted furniture imitating expensive wood was extremely popular and fashionable in the early 19th century.

The chaise follows the popular Greek klismos form with its curved back and front and back legs. It is decorated with classically inspired, gilt stencil decoration and gilt bronze mounts. The increasing popularity of classical forms during this period, often described as the "neoclassical revival," was inspired in part by the 18th-century archeological discoveries of the ancient Roman cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii and by the growing popularity of the European "Grand Tour" among wealthy patrons, intellectuals, and architects.