HISTORY OF ANTIQUE FURNITURE

It is always possible to appreciate a successful decoration, even if you ignore the period to which the furniture included belongs, in the same way that you can listen with pleasure to a concert without knowing how to distinguish the different instruments that make up the orchestra. However, music acquires a deeper meaning when you know something about the instruments that play it. For the same reason, if we learn to recognize different styles of furniture, interior decoration will take on greater meaning for us.

Knowledge of antique furniture allows us to consider each style from an appropriate perspective, not just as something isolated, but rather as a phase in the development of taste in decoration. The history of furniture makes it clear, as we will see, that each of its styles emerged as a natural consequence of the one that preceded it.

The normal evolution of the aesthetic character is directly related to the progressive changes in production techniques. Therefore, furniture creators are constantly concerned with harmonizing shapes with available materials and techniques, to adapt them to the needs of everyday life. The selection of raw materials is often determined by local conditions or a particular economic situation. For example, carpentry workshops in the 17th century were mainly located in ports where ships transporting exotic woods were unloaded.

Over the centuries, furniture also adapts to customs. At the beginning of the 18th century, the arms of chairs were curved, not to follow the line of the legs, but to prevent the voluminous dresses imposed by the fashion of the time from wrinkling. The pointed shapes, hallmarks of the Gothic style, were not created by a mere whim of the nobility. They were the personification of the strong religious feeling that took over Europe in the 11th century. It is thus, in response to great historical moments, that styles are born, varying according to the evolution of technique and the geographical conditions of each country. The forms of ambience that we know – clean, contemporary, ethnic and others – can be classified as trends. Add your personal tone to them, mix and use.

Chronology of Furniture in Antiquity

A general graphic summary of the chronological evolution of the main furniture styles in different European countries. The styles of Antiquity, of which there are few references, will therefore be described quickly.

Antique Styles

Egyptian Furniture and Decoration

Egyptian Chair

Egyptian style chair

Egyptian style chair

n the period from 3000 to 200 a. C., the Egyptians presented a skillful construction decorated with a wealth of material and design: the chair. The oldest chairs were detachable benches with “X” supports. The seat was made of wood, leather or reeds and the supports imitated animal paws. The Egyptians' habit of sitting cross-legged meant that the models were short in height. Later, the chairs were crafted with lion and bull heads, and had a solid back. The arms of the thrones showed lions or swans.

Greek Furniture and Decoration

Greek Chair

Greek Furniture

Greek chair

In Greece, from 1200 BC. C. until the end of its heyday in 323 a. C., the first art lessons came from the Egyptians. The region had rich building materials, such as marble, producing the largest production of art the world has ever seen. Bronze, iron, wood, carvings and inlays in gold, silver and ivory were also present in the decoration of the furniture. Chairs were also used by the Greeks, who created the “Difos”, a model without a back and with cylindrical supports, and the most common, called “Klismos”, with curved legs and back. Models ending in a disc and dog or lion paws were also found.

Roman Furniture and Decoration

Roman Bed

Roman style bronze bench

Roman style Bed

Roman art began in 200 BC. C. and sought inspiration in Etruscan and Greek motifs. With their conquests and victories, the Romans formed a national, luxurious, realistic and monumental art. The chairs had a curved back, closely resembling the Greek ones, being heavier in structure and ornament. Stools and “X” stools were also used. But the most important furniture of the time were the beds, where the Romans spent most of their time reclining, reading, talking, eating or sleeping.