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THE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF FOLDING CHAIRS
© designboom
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ancient history
folding chairs / greek, etruscan, roman
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greek
in ancient greece, the folding stool was called
'diphros okladias'. its form and ceremonial use
derived directly from egyptian culture.
the 'diphros okladias' did not have a specific
place in the home. its use had become a daily part of life,
in particular for the men and women of rank.
the folding stool consisted of four animal legs
pointed inwards and ending with lion's paws.
as folding stools were ornamented from the beginning,
a folding stool with animal legs represents a natural
evolution towards curved-legs folding-chairs
(see the roman 'sella curulis').
the folding chair might also be linked to the medicine
history (see the 'basler arztrelief'/ medicinerelief).
this may be another role of it - beside the role it had for
the social, military or religious leaders.
greek people seated on folding stools -
with the X placed laterally.
iconography :
we see refinements in the folding stool as 'the
stool of the divinity' on many vases and reliefs.
greeks painted humans in a more realistic manner,
and also in their bas-reliefs they used side- and front-
and more spatial views. that's why we can be quite sure
of the sitting position on folding stools.
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etruscan
the etruscan folding stool with greek origin was also
used in ceremonies (it had the same symbolic and
ceremonial status).
etruscans seated on folding stools -
with the X placed laterally.
iconography :
numerous etruscan artifacts were found in italy.
tomb interiors apparently resembled etruscan homes,
with furniture and walls painted with scenes of banqueting.
folding stools were also depicted on vases and on tiles.---
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roman
the egyptian folding stool and later, the greek and the
etruscan form, became the prototype of the roman chair,
the curule chair / 'sella curullis' ('sella' is latin for 'chair'),
which was adapted to the plebeian tribunal in the roman
republican period.
to give it a more imposing appearance, the chair was placed
on a podium, on a carriage, or given high legs and a footrest.
like the egyptians and the greeks, the romans also used
cushions.
later, this appeared in the ceremonies of the catholic church.
we learn from various inscriptions that the right of using a
seat of this kind, upon public occasions, was granted as a
mark of honour to distinguished persons by the magistrates
and people in provincial towns.
the 'sella curulis', as the final development of the antique
curved-legs folding stool, signed the transition from straight
to curved legs, also its form evolved to an elongated version
with armrests (see marc aurelio seated).
roman people seated on folding stools -
with the X placed laterally.
iconography :
numerous roman artifacts are showing folding stools
bas-reliefs, coins and walls painted with scenes of
social events, banqueting...
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aegean / greek, simle folding stool,
ca. 2000 B.C.
'basler arztrelief'/greek, 490 B.C.
showing the 'diphros okladias'
greek folding stool
detail of an etruscan wall painting,
nobleman sitting on a folding stool,
cervetri, italy
marco aurelio seated on a 'sella curulis',
relief from villa albani, rome
roman coin / depiction of the sella curulis
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THE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF FOLDING CHAIRS
© designboom
(compiled by birgit lohmann - a thesis publication, july 1988, revised in june 2003)
this history timeline is provided for educational purposes only,
no reproduction, re-use or transcription for any commercial purpose or use of the content or images is permitted.
a print-publication will soon be available, for inquieries : mail@designboom.com
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