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Did You Know? |
- In Japan, royal furniture, particularly from the Edo (1603-1868) and Meiji (1868-1912) periods, is known for its unique blend of simplicity, elegance, and functionality. Japanese royal furniture often used high-quality woods,
such as cypress, cedar, and paulownia. Skilled artisans employed techniques, including joinery without nails and lacquer finishes to create durable and beautiful pieces. The design of Japanese royal furniture emphasized
minimalism and natural beauty. Furniture pieces were often low to the ground, reflecting the traditional Japanese practice of sitting and sleeping on tatami mats. Common items included low tables, chairs, and screens
with intricate woodwork and lacquer decorations. Royal furniture included thrones, ceremonial tables, storage chests, and folding screens. These pieces were designed to be both functional and aesthetically pleasing,
often featuring nature-inspired motifs like cherry blossoms and waves.
- Korean royal furniture, especially from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), is renowned for its exquisite craftsmanship and intricate designs. It was known for its intricate inlays, fine lacquer finishes, and detailed carvings,
and was often made from high-quality materials such as hardwoods, mother-of-pearl, tortoiseshell, and fine lacquer. Artisans used materials like mother-of-pearl, tortoiseshell, and lacquer to create elaborate patterns and images.
Common types of royal furniture included thrones, large storage chests, ceremonial tables, and book chests with traditional Korean motifs like dragons, phoenixes, cranes, peonies, symbolizing power, prosperity, and longevity;
each piece was designed to reflect the status and authority of the royal family.
- In China, royal furniture from the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) dynasties was crafted with exceptional craftsmanship and artistic beauty. Furniture was often made from precious hardwoods, such as huanghuali and zitan,
and featured clean, elegant lines with minimal yet refined carvings; these woods were highly valued for their durability and beautiful grain patterns. Common types of royal furniture included thrones, ceremonial tables,
storage chests, and folding screens. Hall furniture, used to receive guests and hold ceremonies, was particularly elaborate and showcased the wealth and status of the imperial family. Chinese royal furniture was not just functional
but also conveyed the cultural values and artistic achievements of the time. The use of specific motifs and materials was deeply symbolic and reflected the virtues and aspirations of the royal household.
- In Vietnam royal furniture, particularly from the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945), is known for its exquisite craftsmanship and intricate designs. Vietnamese royal furniture was often made from luxurious woods like rosewood,
ironwood, and teak. Skilled artisans used techniques such as inlaid mother-of-pearl, lacquer finishes, and elaborate carvings to create stunning pieces. The design of Vietnamese royal furniture often featured intricate
dragon and phoenix motifs, symbolizing power and nobility. Other common motifs included clouds, plants, landscapes, and auspicious symbols. These designs were often gilded for added opulence. Common types of royal
furniture included thrones, ceremonial tables, storage chests, and folding screens. The reception space in traditional folk houses often highlighted the throne room and the statue's armchair, inlaid with
five-color mother-of-pearl and colored stones. Like China, Royal furniture in Vietnam not only served functional purposes but also conveyed the power, status, and cultural values of the ruling elite.
- The Badminton Cabinet, the "Dragons" Armchair, and the Wooton Desk are the most valuable pieces of furniture in the world. These pieces are not only valuable due to their craftsmanship and materials but also because of their
historical significance and unique designs.
- The Badminton Cabinet: Also known as the Badminton Chest, the Badminton Cabinet was crafted in 1726 for the 3rd Duke of Beaufort. It's
a monumental piece of 18th-century furniture that features intricate pietra dura inlays; it's currently housed at the Liechtenstein Museum. The Badminton Cabinet became the highest-priced piece of furniture in the
world when it was auctioned for $36.7 million at Christie's London in December 2004.
- The "Dragons" Armchair: Designed by Eileen Gray between 1917 and 1919, this armchair features stylized lacquered dragons
and was sold for $31,292,857 in 2009. The dragon imagery and clouds depicted on the chair have been likened to those found in the iconography of traditional Chinese art.
- The Wooton Desk: Known as the "King of Desks," this 19th-century desk designed by William S. Wooton is a variation of the fall front desk,
native to Indianapolis, Indiana, and produced from 1874 to 1890; it's valued at $12.1 million.
- Around 30,000 years ago, people started to construct and carve their own furniture, using wood, stone, and animal bones. Early furniture depicting the goddess on a throne such as a Venus figurine
found in Russia. The first surviving extant furniture is in the homes of Skara Brae in Scotland, and
includes cupboards, dressers and beds all constructed from stone. Complex construction techniques such as joinery began in the early dynastic
period of ancient Egypt.
- Ancient Egyptians were among the first to make wooden furniture; the iconic throne of Pharaoh Tutankhamun is a prime example of their intricate designs.
- Chinese furniture, especially during the Ming Dynasty, is known for its elegant lines, detailed craftsmanship, and use of precious woods like rosewood, while Japanese furniture often emphasizes minimalism and functionality, with an emphasis on tatami mats and futons in place of traditional Western-style beds and chairs.
- In Medieval Europe, one of the most famous beds is the late Elizabethan Great Bed of Ware, which was so vast (3.38m long and 3.26m wide) a whole football team could lie in them!. Built by Hertfordshire
carpenter Jonas Fosbrooke about 1590, the Great Bed of Ware is an extremely large oak four poster bed,
carved with marquetry, that was originally housed in the White Hart Inn in Ware, England. The Great Bed of Ware has not only appeared in literature of Charles Dickens, Shakespeare, and Ben Johnson, but it also featured in
rumours surrounding famous people had slept in it at one time!
- In the West, being raised off the floor came to mean that you were of a higher social status. Depending on how important they were, they would have between one and six mattresses stacked on top of each other, and typically the bed and its textiles
would account for around a third of their assets. In his will, William Shakespeare famously left his wife Anne
only one thing, their 'second best bed'.
- The office chair, designed for use at a desk in an office, is usually a swivel chair; it
became popular when Otto Von Bismarck distributed them throughout parliament during his time in office.
- The Volcanic Hanging Chair designed by the Latvian interior designer, Raimonds Cirulis, is a luxurious cocoon-shaped furniture much like the Nestrest hanging lounger by Dedon,
albeit with an altogether different silhouette; this hanging chair is made out of volcanic rock, distinguishes it from all others and takes it to a different level.
- One of the earliest known innovators to have created the modern office chair was Charles Darwin, who put wheels on the chair in his study so he could get to his specimens more quickly.
- The Aeron chair is an office chair designed in 1994 by Don Chadwick and Bill Stumpf;
it is produced by Herman Miller.
- The first Adirondack chair was designed by Thomas Lee while vacationing in Westport, New York,
in the Adirondack Mountains in 1903; it was modified by Irving Wolpin, who received U.S. patent #109239 for his design in 1938.
- During the early years of the 19th century, 10 Downing Street was guarded by two men who sat outside of the building in leather chairs that were made by
Thomas Chippendale.
- Chairs, which are supported most often by four legs and have a back, found throughout the world have dated back to 2 BC found in the Mediterranean; it was not until the 16th century that chairs became common.
- Greeks and Romans used Cherry wood to make furniture as early as 400 BC.
- Furniture was made since 3100 BC; a range of unique stone furniture has been excavated in Skara Brae, a Neolithic village located in Orkney
- Greek furniture was typically constructed out of wood, though it might also be made of stone or metal, such as bronze, iron, gold and silver.
- Early American chairs and tables are often constructed with turned spindles and chair backs often constructed with steaming to bend the wood.
- The furniture of the Middle Ages was usually heavy, oak, and ornamented with carved designs.
- Chairs were in existence since at least the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt. They were covered with cloth or leather, were made of carved wood and were much lower than today’s chairs, chair seats were sometimes only 25 cm high
- Chairs came to China from India as a form of Buddhist monastic furniture
- Earthquakes occurred frequently in Japan that resulted in making their furniture, which is simple in shape, but it is beautifully decorated with colorful designs of animals, flowers, and scenes
- In ancient Egypt chairs appear to have been of great richness and splendor, the higher ranked an individual was, the taller and more sumptuous was the chair he sat on and the greater the honor. The average Egyptian family seldom had chairs, and if they did, it was usually only the master of the household who sat on a chair.
- Early beds were little more than piles of straw or some other natural material, such as palm leaves, animal skins, or dried bracken.
- Bedding dated to 77,000 BC was discovered in Sibudu Cave, South Africa
- The Egyptians had high bedsteads which were ascended by steps, with bolsters or pillows, and curtains to hang around.
- The Greek bed had a wooden frame, with a board at the head and bands of hide laced across, upon which skins were placed. the bedstead was often
veneered with expensive woods; sometimes it was of solid ivory veneered with tortoise-shell and with silver feet; often it was of bronze..
- Ancient Romans had various kinds of beds; such as chamber bed, for normal sleeping; marriage bed, it was much decorated, and was placed in the atrium opposite the door
and table bed, on which they ate—for they ate while lying on their left sides—there usually being three people to one bed, with the middle place accounted the most honorable position.
- In the 18th century feather pillows were first used as coverings in Germany, which in the fashions of the bed and the curious etiquette connected with the bedchamber.
- During the 17th century, at Versailles, France, women received their friends in their beds, both before and after childbirth, during periods of mourning,
and even directly after marriage
- Iron beds appear in the 18th century; the advertisements declare them as free from the insects which sometimes infested wooden bedsteads.
- Great Bed of Ware, made in about 1580. It is 3.26 meters (10.7 ft) wide, 3.38 meters (11.1 ft) long.
It is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London.
Another bed in the V&A is the Golden Bed created by William Burges in 1879.
- The King Size bed (76 in × 80 in) was introduced in the U.S. in the mid-1950s.
- The earliest high-quality Asian furniture was produced in China during the 200's B.C.
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