Prehistory The practice of using natural objects as rudimentary pieces of furniture likely dates to the beginning of human civilization. Early humans are likely to have used tree stumps as seats, rocks as rudimentary tables, and mossy areas for sleeping. During the late
Paleolithic or early
Neolithic period, from around 30,000 years ago, people began constructing and carving their own furniture, using wood, stone and animal bones. The earliest evidence for the existence of constructed furniture is a
Venus figurine found at the
Gagarino site in Russia, which depicts the goddess in a sitting position, on a throne. A similar
statue of a seated woman was found in
Çatalhöyük in Turkey, dating to between 6000 and 5500 BCE. The inclusion of such a seat in the figurines implies that these were already common artefacts of that age. A range of unique stone furniture has been excavated in
Skara Brae, a Neolithic village in
Orkney, Scotland The site dates from 3100 to 2500 BCE and due to a shortage of wood in Orkney, the people of Skara Brae were forced to build with stone, a readily available material that could be worked easily and turned into items for use within the household. Each house shows a high degree of sophistication and was equipped with an extensive assortment of stone furniture, ranging from cupboards, dressers, and beds to shelves, stone seats, and
limpet tanks. The stone dresser was regarded as the most important as it symbolically faces the entrance in each house and is therefore the first item seen when entering, perhaps displaying symbolic objects, including decorative artwork such as several Neolithic
carved stone balls also found at the site. File:Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük on black background.jpg|The
Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük, a figurine discovered in Turkey and dated to approximately 6000 BC, is evidence that furniture already existed by that point. File:Skara Brae house 1 5.jpg|A dresser with shelves furnishes a house in
Skara Brae, a settlement in what is now Scotland that was occupied from about 3180–2500 BC File:CucuteniRitualStatues.jpg|
Cucuteni ritualic figurines sitting on miniature chairs; 4900–4750 BC; painted ceramic;
Archaeology Museum Piatra Neamț (
Piatra Neamț, Romania) File:CucuteniNeolithicChair.JPG|Cucuteni figurine staying on a miniature chair; 4750–4700 BC; ceramic; discovered at Târpești (modern-day Romania); Archaeology Museum Piatra Neamț
Antiquity Ancient furniture has been excavated from the 8th-century BCE
Phrygian tumulus, the Midas Mound, in
Gordion,
Turkey. Pieces found here include
tables and inlaid serving stands. There are also surviving works from the 9th–8th-century BCE
Assyrian palace of
Nimrud. The earliest surviving carpet, the
Pazyryk Carpet was discovered in a frozen tomb in
Siberia and has been dated between the 6th and 3rd century BCE.
Ancient Egypt Civilization in
ancient Egypt began with the clearance and irrigation of land along the banks of the
River Nile, which began in about 6000 BCE. By that time, society in the
Nile Valley was already engaged in organized agriculture and the construction of large buildings. At this period, Egyptians in the southwestern corner of Egypt were herding cattle and also constructing large buildings.
Mortar was in use by around 4000 BCE The inhabitants of the Nile Valley and delta were self-sufficient and were raising barley and
emmer (an early variety of wheat) and stored it in pits lined with reed mats. They raised cattle, goats and pigs and they wove linens and baskets. Evidence of furniture from the
predynastic period is scarce, but samples from
First Dynasty tombs indicate an already advanced use of furnishings in the houses of the age. During the
Dynastic Period, which began in around 3200 BCE, Egyptian art developed significantly, and this included furniture design. Egyptian furniture was primarily constructed using
wood, but other materials were sometimes used, such as
leather, and pieces were often adorned with gold, silver, ivory and ebony, for decoration. Wood found in Egypt was not suitable for furniture construction, so it had to be imported into the country from other places, particularly
Phoenicia. The scarcity of wood necessitated innovation in construction techniques. The use of
scarf joints to join two shorter pieces together and form a longer beam was one example of this, as well as construction of
veneers in which low quality cheap wood was used as the main building material, with a thin layer of expensive wood on the surface. The earliest used seating furniture in the dynastic period was the
stool, which was used throughout Egyptian society, from the royal family down to ordinary citizens. Various different designs were used, including stools with four vertical legs, and others with crossed splayed legs; almost all had rectangular seats, however. Examples include the workman's stool, a simple three legged structure with a concave seat, designed for comfort during labour, and the much more ornate folding stool, with crossed folding legs, which were decorated with carved duck heads and ivory, and had hinges made of
bronze. Full
chairs were much rarer in early Egypt, being limited to only wealthy and high ranking people, and seen as a status symbol; they did not reach ordinary households until the
18th dynasty. Early examples were formed by adding a straight back to a stool, while later chairs had an inclined back. Other furniture types in ancient Egypt include tables, which are heavily represented in art, but almost nonexistent as preserved items – perhaps because they were placed outside tombs rather than within, as well as beds and storage chests. Stool with woven seat MET 14.10.3 view 4.jpg|Stool with woven seat; 1991–1450 BC; wood & reed; height: 13 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art Jewelry chest of Sithathoryunet MET DP330328.jpg|Jewelry chest of Sithathoryunet; 1887–1813 BC; ebony, ivory, gold, carnelian, blue faience and silver; height: 36.7 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art Hatnefer's Chair MET 21M CAT047R4 (cropped).jpg|Chair of
Hatnefer; 1492–1473 BC; boxwood, cypress, ebony & linen cord; height: 53 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art Egyptian Museum 000 (37).jpg|The
Throne of Tutankhamun; 1336–1327 BC; wood covered with sheets of gold, silver,
semi-precious and other stones, faience, glass and bronze; height: 1 m;
Egyptian Museum (Cairo)
Ancient Greece Historical knowledge of Greek furniture is derived from various sources, including
literature,
terracotta, sculptures, statuettes, and painted vases. Some pieces survive to this day, primarily those constructed from metals, including
bronze, or marble. Wood was an important and common material in Greek furniture, both domestic and imported. A common technique was to construct the main sections of the furniture with cheap solid wood, then apply a veneer using an expensive wood, such as maple or ebony. Greek furniture construction also made use of
dowels and
tenons for joining the wooden parts of a piece together. Wood was shaped by carving, steam treatment, and the lathe, and furniture is known to have been decorated with ivory, tortoise shell, glass,
gold or other precious materials. The modern word "
throne" is derived from the ancient Greek
thronos (Greek singular: θρόνος), which was a seat designated for deities or individuals of high status/hierarchy or honor. The colossal chryselephantine
statue of Zeus at Olympia, constructed by
Phidias and lost in antiquity, featured the god Zeus seated on an elaborate throne, which was decorated with gold, precious stones, ebony and ivory, according to
Pausanias. Other Greek seats included the
klismos, an elegant Greek chair with a curved backrest and legs whose form was copied by the Romans and is now part of the vocabulary of furniture design, the backless stool (
diphros), which existed in most Greek
homes, and folding stool. The
kline, used from the late seventh century BCE, was a multipurpose piece used as a
bed, but also as a
sofa and for reclining during meals. It was rectangular and supported on four legs, two of which could be longer than the other, providing support for an armrest or headboard. Mattresses, rugs, and blankets may have been used, but there is no evidence for sheets. In general, Greek tables were low and often appear in depictions alongside
klinai. The most common type of Greek table had a rectangular top supported on three legs, although numerous configurations exist, including trapezoid and circular. Tables in ancient Greece were used mostly for dining purposes – in depictions of banquets, it appears as though each participant would have used a single table, rather than a collective use of a larger piece. Tables also figured prominently in religious contexts, as indicated in vase paintings, for example, the wine vessel associated with Dionysus, dating to around 450 BCE and now housed at the
Art Institute of Chicago.
Chests were used for storage of clothes and personal items and were usually rectangular with hinged lids. Chests depicted in terracotta show elaborate patterns and design, including the
Greek fret. Bronze foot in the form of a sphinx MET 2000.660.jpg|Foot in the form of a sphinx; circa 600 BC; bronze; overall: 27.6 x 20.3 x 16.5 cm;
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City) Bronze rod tripod stand MET DT4174.jpg|Rod tripod stand; early 6th century BC; bronze; overall: 75.2 x 44.5 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art Athenian red-figure pelike, found in Gela, 5th c BC, slave boy, AshmoleanM, AN 1972.268, 142536.jpg|
Pelike which depicts a boy carrying furniture for a symposium (drinking party), in the
Ashmolean Museum (
Oxford, UK) Pentelic Marble Funerary Stele of Hegeso, Found in Kerameikos, Athens, 410-400 BC (28387059682).jpg|Funerary stele in which appears somebody staying on a
klismos, from circa 410–400 BC, in the
National Archaeological Museum (
Athens, Greece)
Ancient Rome Roman furniture was based heavily on Greek furniture, in style and construction. Rome gradually superseded Greece as the foremost culture of Europe, leading eventually to Greece becoming a province of Rome in 146 BC. Rome thus took over production and distribution of Greek furniture, and the boundary between the two is blurred. The Romans did have some limited innovation outside of Greek influence, and styles distinctly their own. Roman furniture was constructed principally using wood, metal and stone, with marble and limestone used for outside furniture. Very little wooden furniture survives intact, but there is evidence that a variety of woods were used, including maple, citron, beech,
oak, and holly. Some imported wood such as satinwood was used for decoration. The most commonly used metal was bronze, of which numerous examples have survived, for example, headrests for couches and metal stools. Similar to the Greeks,
Romans used tenons, dowels, nails, and glue to join wooden pieces together, and also practised veneering. The 1738 and 1748 excavations of
Herculaneum and
Pompeii revealed Roman furniture, preserved in the ashes of the AD 79
eruption of Vesuvius. Handbook of ornament; a grammar of art, industrial and architectural designing in all its branches, for practical as well as theoretical use (1900) (14804265373).jpg|Illustration of Roman furniture details, from 1900, very similar with
Empire style furniture Clevelandart 1995.10.jpg|Tripod base; circa 100 BC; bronze; overall: 77 x 32.3 x 28 cm;
Cleveland Museum of Art (
Cleveland,
Ohio, USA) Forziere con sacrificio a giove, I secolo dc, legno, ferro e bronzo, con ageminature, dalla casa di trittolemo a pompei (napoli, man) 01.jpg|Treasure chest with a sacrifice of
Jupiter depicted on it; 1st century AD; wood, iron and bronze, with ageminature; from
Pompeii;
Naples National Archaeological Museum (
Naples, Italy) Couch and footstool with bone carvings and glass inlays MET DP138722.jpg|Couch and footstool with bone carvings and glass inlays; 1st–2nd century AD; wood, bone and glass; couch: 105.4 × 76.2 × 214.6 cm;
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
Middle Ages credenza; 1440–1450; walnut and intarsia; 147.3 x 317.5 x 63.5 cm;
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City) Unlike the ancient western civilizations of Egypt, Greece, and Rome, there is comparatively little evidence of furniture from the 5th to the 15th century. Very few extant pieces survive, and evidence in literature is also scarce. It is likely that the style of furniture prevalent in late antiquity persisted throughout the
Middle Ages. For example, a throne similar to that of
Zeus is depicted in a sixth-century
diptych, while the
Bayeux tapestry shows
Edward the Confessor and
Harold seated on seats similar to the Roman
sella curulis. The furniture of the Middle Ages was usually heavy,
oak, and ornamented with carved designs. The Hellenistic influence upon
Byzantine furniture can be seen through the use of
acanthus leaves,
palmettes, bay and olive leaves as ornaments. Oriental influences manifest through
rosettes,
arabesques and the geometric stylisation of certain vegetal motifs. Christianity brings symbols in Byzantine ornamentation: the pigeon, fishes, the lamb and vines. The furniture from Byzantine houses and palaces was usually luxurious, highly decorated and finely ornamented. Stone, marble, metal, wood and ivory are used. Surfaces and ornaments are gilded, painted plychrome, plated with sheets of gold, emailed in bright colors, and covered in precious stones. The variety of Byzantine furniture is pretty big: tables with square, rectangle or round top, sumptuous decorated, made of wood sometimes inlaid, with bronze, ivory or
silver ornaments; chairs with high backs and with wool blankets or animal furs, with coloured pillows, and then banks and stools; wardrobes were used only for storing books; cloths and valuable objects were kept in chests, with iron locks; the form of beds imitated the Roman ones, but have different designs of legs. The main ornament of
Gothic furniture and all applied arts is the
ogive. The geometric
rosette accompanies the ogive many times, having a big variety of forms. Architectural elements are used at furniture, at the beginning with purely decorative reasons, but later as structure elements. Besides the ogive, the main ornaments are: acanthus leaves, ivy, oak leaves, haulms, clovers,
fleurs-de-lis, knights with shields, heads with crowns and characters from the
Bible. Chests are the main type of Gothic furniture used by the majority of the population. Usually, the locks and escutcheon of chests have also an ornamental scope, being finely made. Paris Musée Cluny Trône de Dagobert 135.jpg|
Throne of Dagobert; 19th and 12th centuries (backrest); gilt bronze; unknown dimensions;
Cabinet des Médailles (Paris) Coffret (Minnekästchen) MET DP273975 (cropped).jpg|
Gothic coffret (Minnekästchen); circa 1325–1350; oak, inlay, tempera, wrought-iron mounts; overall: 12.1 x 27.3 x 16.5 cm;
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City) Chest MET sf57-144-3s4.jpg|Gothic chest; late 15th century; wood; 30.2 x 29.2 x 39.4 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art Chest MET sf16-32-106s1.jpg|Gothic chest; late 15th century; walnut and iron; overall: 47 x 38.7 x 75.9 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art Analogion MNaR 11162 (1).jpg|
Romanian analogion; second quarter of the 16th century; carved,
openwork and
champlevé wood; 115 x 58 x 65 cm; from the
Probota Monastery (
Suceava County);
National Museum of Art of Romania (
Bucharest) Monomakhov tron 01 by shakko.jpg|Russian Monomakhov throne, 1551, wood, unknown dimensions,
Dormition Cathedral, Moscow
Renaissance Along with the other arts, the Italian
Renaissance of the fourteenth and fifteenth century marked a rebirth in design, often inspired by the
Greco-Roman tradition. A similar explosion of design, and renaissance of culture in general occurred in Northern Europe, starting in the fifteenth century. Écouen (95), château, étage, appt du connétable 8.jpg|Sideboard; 1524; wood; height: 144 cm;
Château d'Écouen (
Écouen, France) Écouen (95), château, étage, appt du connétable 2.jpg|Wardrobe; 1530; carved walnut; height: 230 cm; Château d'Écouen Cassone (one of a pair) MET DP106698.jpg|
Cassone (chest); 1550–1560; carved and partially gilded walnut; 86.4 x 181.9 x 67.3 cm;
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City) Écouen Château d'Écouen Innen Musée national de la Renaissance Schrank 1.jpg|Cupboard; 1570; wood; height: 246 cm; Château d'Écouen Armoire Louvre OA 6968.jpg|Cupboard; 1580; walnut and oak, partially gilded and painted; height: 2.06 m, width: 1.50 m; Louvre
17th and 18th centuries The 17th century, in both Southern and Northern Europe, was characterized by opulent, often gilded
Baroque designs that frequently incorporated a profusion of vegetal and scrolling ornament. Starting in the eighteenth century, furniture designs began to develop more rapidly. Although there were some styles that belonged primarily to one nation, such as
Palladianism in
Great Britain or
Louis Quinze in
French furniture, others, such as the
Rococo and
Neoclassicism were perpetuated throughout Western Europe. During the 18th century, the fashion was set in England by the French art. In the beginning of the century
Boulle cabinets were at the peak of their popularity and
Louis XIV was reigning in France. In this era, most of the furniture had metal and enamelled decorations in it and some of the furniture was covered in inlays of marbles lapis lazuli, and porphyry and other stones. By mid-century this
Baroque style was displaced by the graceful curves, shining
ormolu, and intricate
marquetry of the
Rococo style, which in turn gave way around 1770 to the more severe lines of
Neoclassicism, modeled after the architecture of
ancient Greece and
Rome. Creating a mass market for furniture, the distinguished London cabinet maker
Thomas Chippendale's ''The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director'' (1754) is regarded as the "first comprehensive
trade catalogue of its kind". There is something so distinct in the development of taste in French furniture, marked out by the three styles to which the three monarchs have given the name of "
Louis Quatorze", "
Louis Quinze", and "Louis Seize". This will be evident to anyone who will visit, first the
Palace of Versailles, then the
Grand Trianon, and afterwards the
Petit Trianon. Decorative arts in the Louvre - Room 32 D201903 (cropped).jpg|
Baroque four-poster bed from the Château d'Effiat; 1650; natural walnut, chiselled Genoa silk velvet and embroidered silks; 295 cm;
Louvre Francia, tavolo da parete, 1685-90 ca.jpg|Baroque pier table; 1685–1690; carved,
gessoed, and gilded wood, with a marble top; 83.6 × 128.6 × 71.6 cm;
Art Institute of Chicago (US) Armoire aux perroquets du Louvre.jpg|Baroque cupboard; by
André Charles Boulle; 1700; ebony and amaranth veneering, polychrome woods, brass, tin, shell, and horn
marquetry on an oak frame, gilt-bronze; 255.5 x 157.5 cm; Louvre Commode MET DP108742.jpg|Baroque commode; by André Charles Boulle; 1710-1732; walnut veneered with ebony and
marquetry of engraved brass and tortoiseshell, gilt-bronze mounts, antique marble top; 87.6 x 128.3 x 62.9 cm;
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City) Heinrich ludwig rohde o ferdinand plitzner (attr.), scrittoio a ribalta, magonza 1720 ca.jpg|Baroque slant-front desk; by
Heinrich Ludwig Rohde or
Ferdinand Plitzner; 1715–1725; marquetry with maple, amaranth, mahogany, and walnut on spruce and oak; 90 × 84 × 44.5 cm; Art Institute of Chicago Console table MET DP276251.jpg|
Rococo console table; 18th century; carved and gilded wood, marble top; 63.2 × 60 × 25.4 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art Commode MET DP105695.jpg|Rococo commode; by
Charles Cressent; 1745–1749; pine and oak veneered with amaranth and bois satiné, walnut, oak, pine; gilt-bronze, portoro marble top; 87.6 x 139.7 x 57.8 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art Secrétaire en pente Paris 1745 - Musée des arts décoratifs (Paris) 20210629 152741.jpg|Rococo slant-top desk; 1750; oak, kingwood
marquetry, amaranth wood, satiné, gilt bronze; unknown dimensions;
Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Paris) Side table (commode en console) MET DP105703.jpg|Rococo side table (commode en console); by
Bernard II van Risamburgh; 1755-1760; Japanese lacquer, gilt-bronze and Sarrancolin marble top; height: 90.2 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art Bureau du Roi vue de face avec pièce.jpg|
Bureau du Roi (Rococo); by
Jean-François Oeben and
Jean Henri Riesener; 1760–1769; bronze,
marquetry of a variety of fine woods and
Sèvres porcelain; 147.3 x 192.5 x 105;
Palace of Versailles (
Versailles, France) Commode de la comtesse du Barry (Louvre, OA 11293).jpg|
Louis XVI style commode of
Madame du Barry; by
Martin Carlin (attribution); 1772; oak base veneered with pearwood, rosewood and
amaranth, soft-paste
Sèvres porcelain, bronze gilt, white marble; 87 x 119 cm; Louvre Secrétaire à cylindre de Marie-Antoinette (Louvre, OA 5226).jpg|Louis XVI style roll-top desk of Marie-Antoinette; by
Jean-Henri Riesener; 1784; oak and pine frame,
sycamore, amaranth and rosewood veneer, bronze gilt; 103.6 x 113.4 cm; Louvre Table à écrire à pupitre de Marie-Antoinette (Louvre, OA 5509).jpg|Louis XVI style writing table of Marie-Antoinette; by
Adam Weisweiler; 1784; oak, ebony and sycamore veneer, Japanese lacquer, steel, bronze gilt; 73.7 x 81. 2 cm; Louvre Folding stool (pliant) (one of a pair) MET DP113122.jpg|Louis XVI style folding stool (pliant); 1786; carved and painted beechwood, covered in pink silk; 46.4 × 68.6 × 51.4 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art Armchair (fauteuil) from Louis XVI's Salon des Jeux at Saint Cloud MET DP113960.jpg|Louis XVI style armchair (fauteuil) from Louis XVI's Salon des Jeux at Saint Cloud; 1788; carved and gilded walnut, gold brocaded silk (not original); overall: 100 × 74.9 × 65.1 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
19th century The nineteenth century is usually defined by concurrent
revival styles, including
Gothic, Neoclassicism, and Rococo. The design reforms of the late century introduced the
Aesthetic movement and the
Arts and Crafts movement.
Art Nouveau was influenced by both of these movements.
Shaker-style furniture became popular during this time in North America as well. File:Desk chair (fauteuil de bureau) MET DP278961.jpg|
Empire desk chair; 1805–1808; mahogany, gilt bronze and satin-velvet upholstery; 87.6 × 59.7 × 64.8 cm;
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City) Console (France, premier Empire 1804-1814) - Musée des arts décoratifs (Paris) 20210629 154120.jpg|Empire console table; 1804–1814; mahogany, gilded bronze, chiseled gilded bronze and fossil gray marble; 91.5 x 154 x 73.5 cm;
Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Paris) Trône de Napoléon 1er en provenance du Corps législatif - Exposition Versailles.jpg|Empire throne; by
Bernard Poyet and
François-Honoré-Georges Jacob-Desmalter; 1805; carved and gilded wood, covered in red velvet with silver embroidery; 160 x 110 x 82 cm; Musée des Arts Décoratifs File:Coin cabinet MET DP103176.jpg|
Egyptian Revival coin cabinet; 1809–1819;
mahogany (probably
Swietenia mahagoni), with applied and inlaid silver; 90.2 x 50.2 x 37.5 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art Austria-03324 - Cradle of Napoleon's Son (32936041295).jpg|King of Rome's Cradle (Empire); by
Pierre-Paul Prud'hon,
Henri Victor Roguier,
Jean-Baptiste-Claude Odiot and
Pierre-Philippe Thomire; 1811; wood, silver gilt,
mother-of-pearl, sheets of copper covered with velvet, silk and tulle, decorated with silver and gold thread; height: 216 cm;
Kunsthistorisches Museum (
Vienna, Austria) Chair (one of a pair) from the Gothic Cabinet of the Osmond Countess; by François-Honoré-Georges Jacob-Desmalter; circa 1817-1820; gilt wood; bought in 1990 - Inv. PPO03510.jpg|Chair (one of a pair) from the Gothic Cabinet of the Osmond Countess; by
François-Honoré-Georges Jacob-Desmalter; before 1817–1820; gilt wood; unknown dimensions;
Petit Palais (Paris) File:Gothic Revival Side Chair, unidentified maker, American, 1845-1865, walnut frame with upholstered seat and back - Huntington Museum of Art - DSC05106.JPG|Gothic Revival Chair; 1845–1865; walnut frame with upholstered seat and back; unknown dimensions;
Huntington Museum of Art (
Huntington, West Virginia, USA) File:Tête-à-tête MET DT177.jpg|
tête-à-tête (
Second Empire); 1850–1860; rosewood, ash, pine and walnut; 113 x 132.1 x 109.2 cm;
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City) File:Desk, designed by Frank Furness, 1870-71, Philadelphia Museum of Art.jpg|Desk; designed by
Frank Furness, made by
Daniel Pabst; 1870–1871; walnut, walnut veneer, rosewood (knobs), brass, iron, steel and glass; 196.9 × 157.5 × 81.9 cm;
Philadelphia Museum of Art (
Philadelphia, USA) File:Small Table LACMA 59.64.2.jpg|Table (
Rococo Revival); 1880; wood,
ormolu and lacquer; 68.9 x 26.99 x 38.42 cm;
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (
Los Angeles, USA) File:Chair LACMA M.2009.115 (5 of 5).jpg|Chair (
Art Nouveau); by
Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo; 1883; mahogany; 97.79 x 49.53 x 49.53 cm; Los Angeles County Museum of Art Émile gallé, bureau 'foresta lorenese', 1900.JPG|Desk (Art Nouveau), presented at the
1900 Paris Exposition; by
Émile Gallé; 1900; molded and carved oak, with chiseled and patinated bronze; height: 108.5 cm;
Musée d'Orsay (Paris)
Early North American This design was in many ways rooted in necessity and emphasizes both form and materials. Early British Colonial American chairs and tables are often constructed with turned spindles and chair backs often constructed with steaming to bend the wood. Wood choices tend to be deciduous hardwoods with a particular emphasis on the wood of edible or fruit bearing trees such as cherry or walnut.
Mid-Century Modern 1956 The first three-quarters of the 20th century is seen as the march towards
Modernism. The furniture designers of
Art Deco,
De Stijl,
Bauhaus,
Jugendstil,
Wiener Werkstätte, and
Vienna Secession all worked to some degree within the Modernist
motto. Born from the
Bauhaus and
Streamline Moderne came the post-World War II style "
Mid-Century Modern". Mid-Century Modern materials developed during the war including laminated
plywood,
plastics, and
fiberglass. Prime examples include furniture designed by
George Nelson Associates,
Charles and Ray Eames,
Paul McCobb,
Florence Knoll,
Harry Bertoia,
Eero Saarinen,
Harvey Probber,
Vladimir Kagan and
Danish modern designers including
Finn Juhl and
Arne Jacobsen.
Contemporary Industrialisation,
Post-Modernism, and the
Internet have allowed furniture design to become more accessible to a wider range of people than ever before. There are many modern styles of furniture design, each with roots in Classical, Modernist, and Post-Modern design and art movements. The growth of
Maker Culture across the Western sphere of influence has encouraged higher participation and development of new, more accessible furniture design techniques. One unique outgrowth of this post-modern furniture design trajectory is
live edge, which incorporates the natural surface of a tree as part of a furniture object, heralding a resurgence of these natural shapes and textures within the home.
Postmodernism Postmodern design, intersecting the
Pop art movement, gained steam in the 1960s and 70s, promoted in the 80s by groups such as the Italy-based
Memphis movement.
Transitional furniture is intended to fill a place between Traditional and Modern tastes.
Asian history Asian furniture has a quite distinct history. The traditions out of
India,
China,
Korea,
Pakistan, Indonesia (Bali and Java) and
Japan are some of the best known, but places such as
Mongolia, and the countries of
South East Asia have unique facets of their own.
Far Eastern The use of uncarved wood and bamboo and the use of heavy lacquers are well known Chinese styles. It is worth noting that Chinese furniture varies dramatically from one dynasty to the next. Chinese ornamentation is highly inspired by paintings, with floral and plant life motifs including bamboo trees, chrysanthemums, waterlilies, irises, magnolias, flowers and branches of cherry, apple, apricot and plum, or elongated bamboo leaves; animal ornaments include lions, bulls, ducks, peacocks, parrots, pheasants, roosters,
ibises and butterflies. The dragon is the symbol of earth fertility, and of the power and wisdom of the emperor. Lacquers are mostly populated with princesses, various Chinese people, soldiers, children, ritually and daily scenes. Architectural features tend toward geometric ornaments, like
meanders and labyrinths. The interior of a Chinese house was simple and sober. All Chinese furniture is made of wood, usually ebony,
teak, or rosewood for heavier furniture (chairs, tables and benches) and bamboo, pine and larch for lighter furniture (stools and small chairs). Traditional Japanese furniture is well known for its
minimalist style, extensive use of wood, high-quality craftsmanship and reliance on wood grain instead of painting or thick lacquer. Japanese chests are known as
Tansu, known for elaborate decorative iron work, and are some of the most sought-after of Japanese antiques. The antiques available generally date back to the
Tokugawa and
Meiji periods. Both the technique of lacquering and the specific lacquer (resin of
Rhus vernicifera) originated in China, but the lacquer tree also grows well in
Japan. The recipes of preparation are original to Japan: resin is mixed with wheat flour, clay or pottery powder,
turpentine, iron powder or wood coal. In ornamentation, the chrysanthemum, known as kiku, the national flower, is a very popular ornament, including the 16-petal chrysanthemum symbolizing the Emperor. Cherry and apple flowers are used for decorating screens, vases and
shōji. Common animal ornaments include dragons,
carps, cranes, gooses, tigers, horses and monkeys; representations of architecture such as houses, pavilions, towers,
torii gates, bridges and temples are also common. The furniture of a Japanese house consists of tables, shelves, wardrobes, small holders for flowers,
bonsais or for
bonkei, boxes, lanterns with wooden frames and translucent paper, neck and elbow holders, and
jardinieres. Low-back armchair, China, late Ming to Qing dynasty, late 16th-18th century AD, huanghuali rosewood - Arthur M. Sackler Gallery - DSC05918.JPG|Chinese low-back armchair; late 16th-18th century (late
Ming dynasty to
Qing dynasty);
huanghuali rosewood;
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (
Washington D.C.) Japan, Edo Period - Incense Guessing Game - 1921.405 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif|Japanese incense guessing game; 1615–1868;
lacquer; overall: 23 x 25.4 x 16.6 cm;
Cleveland Museum of Art (
Cleveland,
Ohio, US) Pedestal desk, China, Qing dynasty, 1644-1911 AD, huanghuali wood (yellow flowering pear), brass fittings - Portland Art Museum - Portland, Oregon - DSC08449.jpg|Chinese pedestal desk; 1644–1911; huanghuali wood (yellow flowering pear) with brass fittings;
Portland Art Museum (
Portland, Oregon, USA) Chest with Cartouche Showing Figures on Donkeys in a Landscape, Magnolias, Plum Blossoms, Peonies, Birds, and Butterflies LACMA M.80.153.jpg|Japanese chest with cartouche showing figures on donkeys in a landscape; 1750–1800; carved red lacquer on wood core with metal fittings and jade lock; 30.64 x 30.16 x 12.7 cm;
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (USA) Japan, Okinawa Prefecture, Ryukyu Islands, Edo Period - Tiered Food Box with Stand - 1989.5 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif|Japanese tiered food Box with stand; late 18th century; red lacquer over a wood core, with litharge painting and engraved gold designs; overall: 53 x 68 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art Moon-gate bed shown in the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, Ningbo, China, c. 1876, satinwood (huang lu), other Asian woods, ivory - Peabody Essex Museum - DSC07353.jpg|Chinese moon-gate bed; circa 1876; satinwood (huang lu), other Asian woods and ivory;
Peabody Essex Museum (
Salem, Massachusetts, USA) MBAM 2009.84, Chinese canopy bed.JPG|Chinese canopy bed; late 19th or early 20th century; carved lacquered and gilded wood;
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (
Montreal, Canada) 2代由木尾雪雄作-Writing Box (Suzuribako) and Writing Table (Bundai) with Pines at Takasago and Sumiyoshi MET DP330034.jpg|Japanese writing table; early 20th century; lacquered wood with silver fittings and various other materials; height: 12.3 cm, length: 60.96 cm, width: 36.83 cm;
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City) ==Types==