Since the evolution of time, mankind has searched for comfortable seating for their backside. There was a time when seats as simple as leaves on the ground or grass, was more than satisfactory. But that’s the story of our ancestors. As the times changed, so did the needs and demands of the human race. As with everything else, the need for more comfortable and luxuriant furniture was painfully apparent. When one thinks of sitting down, the first thing that comes into mind is a chair. It has become second nature for us to sit on chairs. We take them for granted, assuming they had always been there for us. However, that is not the story of our fine four legged friends.
Chairs, derived from the Latin word ‘cathedra’, did not come into existence until the innovative times of the ancient Greeks and was limited only to royalty. The Egyptians, however, beat the Greek in the race to excellence. Egyptian chairs, which started out as common pieces of furniture, had carved their names in history books by the second dynasty of the Pharaoh’s rule. The royal workshops started creating pieces of art in the form of chairs, inlaid with colored wood, ebony and ivory; decorated with gold, silver and precious stones. Over time, chairs coming out of Egyptian workshops attained the heights of intricacy, in both design and construction.
The Greeks, who were after all the pioneers of chair design, leaped forward in the race of chair development and reached their peak with the creation of the klismo; a light weight, elegant chair with curved legs, back rails and back rest. The success of this chair can be seen from the fact that the Romans, not only adopted this design for themselves, but also took the liberty of introducing them in almost all parts of their empire. They took to the Greek chair, even though they had quite a number of designs to their own name in the form of ordinary chairs called Sella; couch-like seats called the Lectica; the Curule, a folding chair used mostly by Senators; and the king of them all, the Bisellium, the chair occupied by the Emperor during the games at the Colosseum.
Chairs owe their publicity in heaps, to the 17th century Renaissance, which changed the idea of chairs being set aside for the high and mighty, to them being used by every household that could afford them. As the chairs became a common commodity, along with the demand of the chairs looking good, came the demand for chairs to feel good as well. This new requirement brought to life a whole new generation of chair designers whose main focus was comfort. The Frenchmen, in particular, had a great knack for designing lightweight and comfortable chairs. In fact, it was the French designers who set the foundation stones to the path leading to our modern chairs. The new chairs could be used for resting and sleeping in addition to more traditional roles of being used for dining and work.
As we stepped into the 18th century, the chairs used became curvier than ever before. Legs, back rests, arms were all being fashioned into curves that were supposed to fit the shape of the body. The increase in the amount of curves in the chairs increased the demand for raw material and financial backing, neither of which was easy to get, since the designs soon died out.
After the curves of the 18th century, we saw reflections of the past in the designs of the 19th century as we revisited the traditions of our forefathers. Technological advancements of the 20th century once again changed the type of chairs we preferred. As the world moved towards consumerism and dilution of technology through all levels of society, modernization in chair designs came in the form of merging the traditional chair with modern technology.
New research was incorporated into designs well loved to create more comfortable chairs, in accordance to the requirements of the consumers. New advances included innovations such as the automatic wheel chairs, chairs with adjustable heights and angles, orthopedic chairs, special chairs for the elderly and many more.
As the world went through its many eras going through changes, noticeable and subtle, in areas such as fashion, architecture and car designs, chairs were not merely silent spectators. They went through changes of their own, most of which we failed to notice or give importance to. The fact remains that these advances in seating designs have greatly affected our lives and they will diligently continue to change our lives for the better as much as possible with or without receiving the credit they deserve. Here’s a shout out to the people who help us sit more comfortably each day. May you continue to do so for ever more.
