INTERIOR DESIGN

‘HISTORY OF FURNITURE’

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

AR. SHRISTI BALIYAN KRISHNA PATHAK
MARIA SUHAIL
SANSAR KATHERIA
ANCIENT HISTORY
(16-17 CENTURY)
 INTRODUCTION
The history of supported sitting or seating, has a long and colorful history beginning at least
with the Egyptians some 3000 B C.
As an introduction to the history of seating, only three items were listed. These were the
stool (both fixed and folding), the bench and its antecedent the chest, and the chair.
Basically the initial chair or seat makers were the carpenters and then the joiners, who were
followed by the cabinet maker and craftsman.
The seat has often been associated with political power, religion, art, and the notion of
aesthetics throughout its long evolution.
The ancient history of furniture comes to us principally from the art records left to us by
earlier societies. Occasionally, such as in the case of Tutankhamen's tomb, real pieces can
be examined and described.
 ANCIENT EGYPT (3100 - 475 BC)
The Egyptians equipped their houses with great skill. Beds, stools, throne chairs, and boxes
were the chief forms of furniture in ancient Egypt. The bed may have been the earliest form;
it was constructed of wood and consisted of a simple framework supported on four legs.
The ancient Egyptian furniture was in general lower in height ; beds being about 300mm
high and the stools being extremely low. "As to the lowness of the seating pieces, the short
stature of the early Egyptian people may have had some influence, their average height
being only a few inches over five feet ." However, their chair remains indicate them being
quite high off the ground, requiring a footstool to be reached, and once seated the footstool
was used to support the sitter's feet. These footstools were made of wood.
The stool appears to be the most common and perhaps earliest piece of furniture
developed by early Egyptian culture, as seen in the early sculpture. It was used throughout
society for a variety of functions.
Furniture existed in small quantities and when the pharaohs toured their lands, they took
their beds with them. In the same tomb was a folding wooden bed with bronze hinges.
Instead of pillows, wooden or ivory headrests were used. These were so essentially
individual, being made to the measure of the owner, that they were often placed in tombs to
be used by the dead man on his arrival in the land of eternity. Folding headrests were
probably for the use of travellers.

Early Egyptian stool.

 By the time of the Second Dynasty the stool appears to have reserved for royalty and
high ranking members of society. Sometimes a cushion was added, or so it would
appear from historical records. Early stools for ceremonial purposes were merely
squared blocks of stone. When made of wood, the stool had a flint seat (later shaped
concavely) covered with a soft cushion .
The addition of a low backrest to the chair is an interesting development that is not seen
again in the history of the chair. Such throne chairs were reserved for use by personages
of great importance.

Early Egyptian chair

 By the Fourth Dynasty the chair reached a high point in its refinement and elegance , After
then the seat in its two forms (the chair used by nobility and royalty and the stool used
throughout the rest of the society) remained virtually unchanged for twelve dynasties (to
around 1320 B C).

Egyptian chair with 'sacral' support.

Sitting postures still included a folded leg position, with the chair's large seat area
making this possible. To achieve this posture the Egyptians regularly used footstools, as
stand alone objects, or built into the construction of the chair.

Egyptian chair for Queen Hetepheres.

Sitting posture options offered Use of footstool with
by Egyptian chairs. Egyptian chair.
Another interesting and quite distinctive chair style that
developed late in Egyptian culture was the single curve
and later the 'double curved' seat section of the chair.
Egyptian furniture and in particular chairs, evolved into
some quite complex forms, requiring a high level of skill in
their design and crafting .

Double curved Egyptian seat.

 Stool designs with similar shapes are also recorded.
The folding stool represents a typical example of this
variety. Leather or a material weave would form the
seat section or 'stretcher' of the stool. Perhaps the
naturally formed curve assumed by the seat when sat
upon was imitated in the solid construction stool and
the chair.

Curved Egyptian stool.

Egyptian chest Egyptian bed
The chair with a sloping backrest remained the domain
of the kings and privileged classes, while the general
populace used stools, squatted or sat on a mat.
The royal footstool was painted with the figures of
traditional enemies of Egypt so that the pharaoh might
symbolically tread his enemies under his feet. Carvings
of animal feet on straight chair legs were common, as
were legs shaped like those of animals. Boxes, often
elaborately painted, or baskets were used for keeping
clothes or other objects. Tables were almost unknown.
The Egyptians used thin veneers of wood glued
together for coffin cases; this gave great durability.
Egyptian furniture in general was light and easily
transportable; its decoration was usually derived from
religious symbols, and stylistic change was very slow.

Egyptian chair found in

Tutankhamen’s tomb
 MESOPOTAMIA
The Mesopotamian empire and the Egyptian culture, share some interaction, as seen in the
similarity of some of their furniture.. It is believed that the Mesopotamians "...lived at ground
level, upon mats and rugs with little more than cushions to give support" The exception to
this way of sitting were the kings and nobility, and for the gods, represented in the art of the
time. The main furniture item were beds, stools, boxes and chairs.
The forms were constructed in the same manner as Egyptian furniture except that members
were heavier, curves were less frequent, and joints were more abrupt. Ornament was richly
applied in the form of cast-bronze and carved-bone finials (crowning ornaments, usually
foliated) and studs.
 "Throughout this period, sitting on a stool or chair without a backrest was quite popular, "In
the seals of the old Babylonian period the simple wooden stool with rounded legs and a
single stretcher appears so frequently it seems probable that this was the seat most
generally used at this time“.
Chair of Darius, King of Persia.
The Assyrian and Neo Babylonian periods in Mesopotamia (1350 - 539 B C), see the chair
and table being used together in artefacts depicting eating scenes.
 Egyptian chairs were made with a sloping backrest curved to fit the body but they were
missing from the furniture portrayals of this period in Mesopotamian art. Instead there are tall
straight chairs on which the occupants sit bolt upright.
Mesopotamia originated three main features -First was the decoration of furniture legs with
sharply profiled metal rings, one above another, like many bracelets. Second was the use of
heavy fringes on furniture covers, blending the design of frame and cushion into one effect.
Third was the couch on which the main personage or personages reclined for eating or
conversation; the small table to hold refreshments, which could be moved up to the couch;
and the chair, on which sat an entertainer—wife, hetaira (courtesan), musician, or the like—
who looked after the desires of the reclining superior personages.
 The Aegean Era (3000 - 2000 BC)
Few records remain of this period to indicate the types of
furniture used. The notable exception is a miniature sculpture of
a seated harp player .How close this representation was to
reflecting actual seating behaviour remains a mystery. It is
significant to note that this style of chair had no apparent
design link to the Egyptian or Mesopotamian furniture of the
time.

Aegean stool c. 2000BC

 The Early Greek Era (750 - 475 BC)
This is a period of sophistication in design represented in the paintings and sculpture of
the time. The Greeks had become accustomed to eating in a reclining pose. It seems it
was common for men to 'lounge' together, each with his own couch, eating from low tables
that supported their food.
Principal furniture forms were couches, chairs (with and without arms), stools, tables,
chests, and boxes.

Greek couches.
The designers and craftsmen of this period
produced a well finished and 'classic ' Greek
design in the chair.
 The legs were generally curved, with a "back
composed of three uprights fitted into a curved
board at shoulder level". The seats were light
in weight and could be moved about a room
as needed, providing flexibility in arrangement.
They offered a new type of support for the
back than the straight back, or slanted back
chairs of earlier times.

Classical Greek chair.

The Greeks development of the couch, the chair and even the stool seems based on a
concern for the human form in their designs. Support is deliberately added to support the
back. The seats appear in more common usage throughout the society, its use becoming a
daily part of life for the 'well off Greek', and in particular the men and women of rank.

Greek stool.
 The Classical Greek Era (475 - 370 BC)
The furniture of this period remained virtually unchanged from the 'Early Greek period'.
The stool developed in two forms. One, termed 'diphros', often had four perpendicular legs
and a rectangular seat, often with a cushion or rug for padding. The other stool became
known as 'diphros okladias' in which the legs cross, as in the modern stool. These stools,
sometimes quite elaborate in design, could fold to allow easy transport when travelling.
The material used was either wood or marble.

'diphros okladias
The use of benches on which to sit became a common
part of Greek culture, used in schools and theatres and
by philosophers and their audiences.
The benches sometimes had perpendicular backrests,
but this was not common. The Greeks were also
accustomed to sitting on the ground. Significantly
perhaps, the 'speaker' would sit in an almost throne like
chair, setting him/her apart from the audience.

Greek theatre benches.

Footstools were in use whenever people sat in the higher chairs.
They were also used as a stepping stone to mount the high couches
in use. The Greeks would eat in a reclining pose, food laid on table
next to the couch. Once finished with, the table would be pushed
under the couch.
Our notion of 'comfort' may be said to have derived from the
Greeks, certainly they appear to have enjoyed their leisure time,
adapting the chair for more comfortable support and developing
furniture to suit their bodies in recline. It is with the Greeks, that the
notion of supporting the body when sitting develops.
Greek tables were usually small and easily portable. An interesting
type had an oblong top supported by three legs, two at one end and
one at the other. Rectangular tables with four legs were also used,
as were round tops.

Greek stool with footstool.

 The Roman Era
The Romans did not develop the furniture of the
Greeks much further. Rather, they kept the designs and
added to the ornamentation and decoration.
Principal furniture forms were couches, chairs with and
without arms, stools, tables, chests, and boxes. Gold,
silver, tortoiseshell, bone, and ivory were used for
decoration, with veneer of rare woods.
Roman chairs developed from Greek models. The
Greek throne chair evolved into a small armchair with
solid rounded back made in one piece with sides set on
a rectangular or semicircular base called the cathedra.

Roman throne.
The Romans developed a decorative type of folding stool, often made in bronze. This was
supported by four curved legs, ornamented with scrolls. The folding stool, with cross legs
sometimes connected by stretcher bars, was used both by Roman officials and in
households.
Tables with round and rectangular tops and three and four legs were common. Another type
of smaller table is round or rectangular with only one central leg.
Pompeian wall paintings show that plain, undecorated wooden tables and benches were
used in kitchens and workshops, and some household possessions were kept in cupboards
with panelled doors.
Rectangular footstools, sometimes with claw feet, were used with the high chairs and
couches.
Clothes and money were stored in large wooden chests with panelled sides, standing on
square or claw feet.
 The Middle Ages
The Byzantine Era
When the nomads plundered Rome, they found chairs
that made no more sense to them than the statues. Their
habit was to squat on the ground and so it remained.
All those lovely subtle curving shapes seen in Greek
and late Roman furniture, the rounded backs and the
sweeping sabre legs have vanished" .The chair was
severe in its form and was only used by figures of power
and authority, and for ceremonial purposes. Comfortable
support did not seem a consideration.
Chairs, stools, benches, and primitive chests were the
most common items.

Byzantine chair.
Sophisticated desks fitted with adjustable lectern tops for reading revealed a greater
appreciation of function.
Dining tables were very low in deference to the Classical manner of eating while reclining,
supporting the diner on one elbow.
The most common item was chest.
Coffers with simple, flat, hinged lids that also served as beds or benches were also used.

Coffer
Coronation chair, now in Dining Table
Westminister Abbey
Western Europe
The coffer, or chest, was the most common item of furniture.
A basic wooden box constructed from six timber boards nailed together, or even hollowed
log. It was often the only piece of furniture owned by many people.
A great deal of furniture was made portable because they spend a lot of their time travelling
between different parts of their estates.
Tapestries, wall hangings and cushions were usually removed and taken from one house to
another.
Chests designed for the safe transport of goods had curved lids to drain away rainwater,
and were seldom decorated with a leather cover.
The Gothic Era
The early Gothic period was a time without the chair
for the general population. The three legged stool
remained a part of everyday life, but sitting was a
very informal affair. People where accustomed to
seating in very close proximity to each other, often
crowded together.
People sat on the bare floor and used cushions.
They sat on stairs and steps leading up to the high
posted beds.
 Romanesque chests where for sacred purposes
and much to high to have been used as seats. As
chests became lower, we find them aligned along
walls. They filled the role of chairs and couches.
Folding stools remained a useful addition to the
travellers lot.

Gothic stool.
The chest's metamorphosis to the seat came about as people became less nomadic, and
no longer required the security of a chest. As well, the chests of the time became quite
ornate and uncomfortable to sit upon, and with the addition of the drawer the chest began its
development as a 'chest of drawers'. The arrangement of chests around the walls became
replaced by a continuous 'bench skirting', sometimes the whole circumference of the room.
The chest remained one of the most important pieces of furniture until the cupboard began
to compete with it in usefulness.

Gothic chest.
Chairs remained scarce and occupation of a
chair long symbolized authority or a mark of
honour, and even a large house might possess
only chairs for the lord and his wife and perhaps
another for a distinguished visitor; the use of the
word chairman is a modern reflection of this
medieval custom. While the common man made
use of upturned buckets, stools and crude wooden
benches.
 They developed sloping tables, lecterns, and
tables capable of angular adjustments to hold their
books and papers at eye level.
Horizontal tables became the principal type for
these type of activities, a period associated with
the development of libraries.

Gothic chair and 'desk'.

As the functions of the chair become more diversified, new designs
begin to emerge such as the revolving chair, which first appeared in
this era. Its function was to facilitate the task at hand for the busy
scholar. The use of hinges and pivots was commonly employed in
the furniture designs of the time with X-shaped frame, made of both
wood and metal.
Various forms of cupboards, ambries, and dressoirs were
developed at this time.
Much of the best furniture of this period was therefore made for
use in churches and monasteries.
Other constructional improvements included the introduction of
drawers into cupboards and similar storage furniture, and neater
and more efficient joints, such as the mitre and the mortise and
tenon. Panelling was frequently decorated with a flat form of
ornament called linenfold, or parchment.
English oak was the chief material, but softer woods also were
used.

Gothic 'document holder'.

Italy
The Renaissance
There were changes in furniture forms that were to spread over Europe.
The furniture of the early Italian Renaissance is often restrained, with beautiful, simple
designs carved in walnut. For more elaborate work, sculpture in low relief
and stucco modelled in intricate patterns were much used.
The cassone, or marriage coffer (hope chest), ,was one of the most prized object in any
home. The side panels were often covered with colored or glided gesso, built up into relief
patterns or sculpted to depict Classical figures and scenes.

Renaissance cassone Marriage coffer

A type of chair called a sgabello was much favored at this time in Italy. The seat was a
small wooden slab, generally octagonal, supported at front and back by solid boards cut into
an ornamental shape; an earlier variety was supported by two legs at the front and one in the
rear; a solid piece of wood formed the back.
Another chair of the period was the folding X-shaped chair, sometimes called a Dante chair.
Tables were generally oblong, supported by columns, consoles (brackets), or terminal
figures, with a long central stretcher running from end to end.

Sgabello chair Dante chair

France
French furniture was remarkably graceful and delicate; it
was enriched with inlay of small plaques of figured marble
and semiprecious stones.
Chairs began to be lighter in design; the back became
narrower, the panelled sides and base were replaced by
carved and turned arms and supports, and legs were joined
by stretchers at their base.
 A specialized chair known as a caquetoire, or conversation
chair, supposedly designed for ladies to sit and gossip in, had
a high, narrow back and curved arms, which was designed to
accommodate flowing skirts.

Caquetoire chair
Renaissance furniture included evolution of the throne chair, which usually had a chest
base that was supported by pillars.
Chests decorated in the new style were still widely used, although frequently replaced by
the armoire (a tall cupboard or wardrobe).

Throne chair Armoire

Elaborately carved oblong tables were supported by consoles or fluted columns connected
by a stretcher surmounted by an arched colonnade.
New type of case furniture developed, such as the dresser; constructed from various
combination of pillars, shelving, and cabinets enclosed with doors.
Drawers were made for the safe storage of their treasure.
Long dining tables were still made from a simple top on trestles, and there were no fixed
dining areas in noblemen’s houses so tables needed to remain portable.

Oblong tables Dresser

Spain
Because of the long occupation of Spain by the
Moors, a style called Mudéjar evolved. While
furniture in this style remained in form essentially
European, decoration had an oriental flavour.
 A type of cabinet known as vargueno was
typically Spanish. The upper part, in chest form,
with drawers inside, had a fall front (a hinged
writing surface that opened by falling forward),
often elaborately mounted in wrought iron and
backed by velvet, with a massive iron lock.
The cabinets were richly carved, painted, gilded,
and inlaid with ivory in a Moorish manner.

Vargueno desk
England
Strapwork, cartouches, and grotesque masks are characteristic features of this northern
Renaissance style.
Heavy oak tables, sometimes draw (extension) tables, had massive legs and solid
stretchers. Beds were heavily draped to provide privacy, as the bed might be located in any
room of the house.
 Chairs became slightly more common. Folding wooden chairs and low stools, were
commonly used. From the box chair evolved a type in which the arms and legs were no
longer filled in with panelling but which had plain or turned legs, with shaped arms resting on
carved or turned supports. The backs of chairs were still panelled and decorated with carving
and inlay or surmounted with a wide and richly carved cresting. Folding chairs, X-shaped
chairs, were also used.
A new style of bed design appeared; the greater part of the frame was left exposed and was
enriched with carving and other decoration, making the frame itself an important part of the
design.
Various types of cupboards were also made.
Chairs without arms, called farthingale chairs , were
introduced to accommodate the wide skirts, called
farthingales, that were popular at the time. Farthingale
chairs had upholstered seats and a low, rectangular
upholstered back raised on short supports a little
above the seat.
Draw tables, which could be conveniently lengthened
by pulling out the two leaves concealed under the top,
were also introduced. Table legs and sides were
decorated with carving and inlay.

Farthingale chair
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