An American furniture form of the 1700's, used primarily in chests. The front is divided into three vertical segments consisting of a concave panel in the center and convex panels on each side.

Design is an unique American furniture form. John Towsend is attributed to creating the first block and shell furniture in 1766. Newport style is square blocked. Massachusetts is both square and round blocking. Front is usually divided vertically into three segments with a concave panel in the center and convex panels on either side. Panels frequently terminate in shell carvings or flat arches at the top. See also Break Front.

A term applied to the unique type of construction for fronts of Early American chest of drawers and chest-on-chests; consisting of a concave, but fattened, recession at the center, and two convex, but flattened, swells on the ends. It is a type of construction supposed to have originated with John Goddard, a famous cabinetmaker in Newport, RI.