Rethinking form and function

A brief introduction into the history of the chair

Chairs as you can imagine have a long history, for as long as there has been man (and woman) there has been the need to sit down on something comfortable. Throughout history chairs have reflected the status of the person sitting on them.

The size, decoration and sheer ornateness of the chair saying a lot about the person sitting in it. Indeed in classical times to the time of the pharaohs, the chair was reserved for the high and mighty, only kings, lords and bishops were allowed chairs at all, the rest of the populace had to do with sitting on chests, benches or stools.

A chair is a stable, raised surface used to sit on, commonly for use by one person. Chairs often have the seat raised above floor level, supported by four legs. However, a chair can have three legs (in a triangle shape) or could have a different shape depending on the criteria of the chair specifications. A chair without a back or arm rests is a stool, or when raised up, a bar stool. A chair with arms is an armchair and with folding action and inclining footrest, a recliner. A permanently fixed chair in a train or theater, is a seat or air seater when riding, it is a saddle and bicycle seat, and for an automobile, a car seat or infant car seat. With wheels it is a wheel chairand when hung from above, a swing.

"Throughout history chairs have reflected the status of the person sitting on them"

The church and the chair have an even deeper connection, as the word "chair" derives from the Latin "cathedra", the connection being the designation of a church that was the "seat" of a bishop as a cathedral. The chair however goes far further back than Latin however, the Egyptians having created some highly ornamental chairs for their pharaohs, while the Ancient Greeks way back in 1400BC were building chairs with four sturdy wooden legs, their design, the klismos being adopted by the Romans who introduced it in all the territories they conquered. Chairs were developed rich carvings and polychromatic surface treatments for the important members of society, but by the mid 1650's chairs became common and were often upholstered.

Reference: http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/a-short-history-of-the-chair-791402.html