Definition: a type of pediment ornamenting the top of a piece of tall case furniture (secretaries, highboys, etc.); similar to a scroll pediment, in that the sides are curved, but the back is closed and the top is covered, so that a hood- or bonnet-like shape caps the piece; often decorated with rosettes and a carved finial in the middle space and two others at the two front corners; developed in the American colonies around 1730, it is highly typical of American Chippendale furniture; also characteristic of Queen Anne and early Federal styles
Also Known As: hooded top, goose- or swan-neck pediment (architectural), scroll pediment (generic)
Example: While the term's often used to describe a scroll pediment whose sides don't quite meet, a true bonnet top pediment forms an unbroken, complete circle - like a bonnet framing a lady's face.