subject: A Chair Is Still A Chair... [print this page] Look around your living space today and you might see one as a part of your trusted 3 piece suite, there may be many more tucked under your dinner table, one conveniently placed for your computer, the cat may have claimed one or a partner might have taken up permanent residence in one, armed with a remote; the humble chair is a symbol of modern day living and the comfort we expect in our everyday lives.
Although the tradition of taking the weight off our feet has been commonplace for centuries, the history of the right-angled design of the chair we know today is a little more interesting. No ordinary piece of furniture, it was intended to lend authority to the seated as it was considered to keep its occupier sat upright. We can see the remnants of the chair's rich past in today's thrones, and in other examples such as the Speaker's Chair in the House of Commons.
The Ancient Egyptians are responsible for the first ever armchair, which has been traced back to a tomb in the Valley of the Kings. This is perhaps because they believed that everything they designed must follow a natural form, which may explain why the first armchair came into being. Usually carved from ebony, ivory or gilded wood, the item was revered in their ancient culture and usually beset with jewels.
The Greek chairs go as far back as 7 centuries BCE and much like the Egyptians, they decorated them with carvings of mythical creatures and beasts, especially around the legs of the chair. This also symbolised power, along with the materials it was conceived from with Roman chairs typically made of marble. The Curule chair had a cross frame and could easily be attributed to the modern-day folding chair, except for the bejewelled enhancements.
France is home to the elaborate bronze cast Chair of Dagobert in the Louvre museum, which was partially gilt and had a leather seat. While In Italy, St Peter's Basilica in Rome is host to piece from the 6th century and Byzantine Empire that was known as a Sedia Gestatoria. This highly ornamented chair portrays the might of Hercules and as a type of sedan chair was used as a portable throne to carry figure heads, such as the Pope. Sedan chairs were carried by slaves to transport nobles and also hugely popular in China during the Song Dynasty from 960 to 1279.
Style and comfort doesn't always go hand in hand when it comes to the chair's history in England. Convenience was of highest importance, as a type of chair which could be taken apart for easy travelling known as a Faldstool became quite popular - up until, that is, the point at which every residence had chairs of its own.
From the 18th century, comfort began to become of greater importance, with the development of padded seats. Today, we can see the evolution of this need, with many chairs today offering much more support and even orthopaedic and custom-made chairs to ensure that our frame is properly held whilst sitting. And so the history of the chair can be traced from humble beginnings of hard marble to modern day upholstery, not to mention advances in style and form which are much more able to offer the ultimate relaxation at the end of a long day.
