5,000 Years of Chairs’ Design
From Tutankhamun to Marcel Breuer
When we select an item we look for the roots and nature of the thing. In this post we will speak about furniture and chairs. It is not known that many types of furniture did not change much in 6,000 years, even more. The next photo shows a chair -called Ngundja- from Angola, South West of Africa, a designed that (presumably) survived many centuries, even millennia:
When we think of a chair we know three elements: a surface when we sit, the legs that hold, the back and two arms. Please pay attention at this chair from Tutankhamun’s tomb chamber. Discovered by the archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922, is probably the finest example of Ancient Egyptian art. Crafted from wood and gilded in gold leaf, the chair clearly belongs to a king, but nevertheless it follows the general concepts that define a chair:
At the time of the Roman Republic, 200bc, the Curule Chair was a style of chair reserved for the use of government dignitaries, usually made like a campstool with curved legs. It was made of ivory, with or without arms, and its name is derived from the chariot “currus”, in which a magistrate had a seat for judgment. Later used by magistrates or officials: consul, master of the horse, interrex, censor, and even the emperor.
In England, around 1550, a chair looked like the following: low and broad stature, nearly square ground plan, straight arms and twin, vertical back panel arrangement. The primary material was riven timber as the primary material. This chair pattern was probably imported from books of that time.
During the Classicism, 18th and 19th Century, depending on which part of Europe, most chairs were inspired or even imported from Italy, and they emulated Greek and Roman models. Utilitarian and functional chairs soon became developed by the Industrial Revolution, and by 1900 the Arts and Crafts movement in Scotland and England opened a new door, at the same time where Chicago had great new furniture industries.
During all the Industrial Revolution practical designs started to be produced in large quantities. In the early Modern Movement around the 20’s, Marcel Breuer designed his Wassily Chair. In a sudden move, a single stainless steel tube conquers the space, and seven hanging strips of leather give function and comfort. Inspired by the frame of a bicycle, it is the epitome of simplicity, together with the BKF chair, from 1940.
The Butterfly Chair, or BKF was designed in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1938 by architects Antonio Bonet, Juan Kurchan and Jorge Ferrari Hardoy (at that time working with Le Corbusier's studio), and who formed the architectural collective Grupo Austral:
We invite you to see some of our 20th Century Chair collection, inspired in classic designs from what we call today mid-Century, but in reality can be traced centuries back in time.
We hope you enjoy our approach and visit our shop at Ethnika Time, we continuously expand to serve your needs and, most important, fulfil your dreams.
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