In this first of a multi part series we're going to discuss the history of the chair. Yes, they do have a history and didn't just pop out of nowhere.

Chairs are the ultimate in antiquity. And for many thousands of years chairs were not simply a device for people to sit on while eating or reading. Chairs were an article of state and dignity, used by only the wealthiest and most powerful and not simply an article of ordinary use. Not everyone had chairs. Certainly not like some of the greatest chairs to have ever adorned our world.

Even today, the chair is still used as an emblem of authority in many government buildings all over the world and also at public meetings. Actually, it wasn't until the 16th century that chairs became common place. Until the chair did become common most people sat on chests, benches and stools. The number of chairs that have survived from early days are very few. That is why they are such an antiquity and worth a lot of money in any kind of condition.

The knowledge that we have of antique chairs is gotten mostly from monuments, sculpture and paintings. There are a few examples of antique chairs that exist in The British Museum, the Egyptian Museum and a few other places around the world.

In ancient Egypt chairs appear to have played a significant role in the lives of the powerful rulers and were of great richness and splendor. Most chairs of ancient Egypt were made of ebony and ivory or of gilded wood. They were covered with very costly materials, sometimes even gems, and supported on legs that were made into the shapes of the strongest beasts of the time, mostly lions. Some legs were even made into the shape of human figures of their captives. From the few paintings we have to go by, these were truly amazing spectacles. The early monuments of Nineveh show a chair without a back but with beautifully carved legs shaped into lions' claws or bulls' hoofs. Other chairs are supported by figures in the nature of caryatides or by animals.

Then we have early Greek and Roman chairs. The earliest Greek chair that we know about goes back about 600 years before Christ. These chairs had backs and stood straight up both in front and back. The Roman chairs wee quite different. They were mostly made of marble and adorned with sphinxes. The curule chair was very similar to today's folding chairs but eventually ended up with so many ornaments that they are virtually unrecognizable from their folding chair counterparts of modern times. One of the most famous of these chairs was the one at Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. The wooden portions of this chair are very badly decayed. The chair itself appears to be the work of Byzantine of the 6th century but this is not known for certain.

In our next part in this series we will continue with early medieval and Chinese chairs.

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Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Chairs
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