A
cabriole leg is one of (usually) four vertical supports of a piece of
furniture shaped in two
curves; the upper
arc is , while lower is ; the upper curve always bows outward, while the lower curve bows inward; with the
axes of the two curves in the same
plane. This design was used by the ancient
Chinese and
Greeks, but emerged in
Europe in the very early 18th century, when it was incorporated into the more curvilinear styles produced in
France,
England and
Holland.