Day 305-Journey of The X-Chairs

The X-Chair, so called for its crossed legs, started its humble life as a folding stool. In fact, the X-chair is THE original folding stool.

Copy of the wall painting from the tomb of Huy, an Egyptian official who lived during the reign of king Tutankhamun (1336-1327 BC). Thebes

Cleopatra chair Ebay Seller louisxv2006

It was believed that the chairs originated from Egypt. Th Egyptians constructed their chair to be simple and portable. Made with a slung leather seat on a pair of wooden frames, these chairs were constructed to fold for easy packing and travelling from battlefield to battlefield with a commanding army officer (see the chair at the top of the wall painting).

aegean / greek, simle folding stool, ca. 2000 B.C

The popularity of these chairs soon spread as far and wide as ancient Greece where the stool was called "diphros okladias". Not only did the Greeks took the form of the chair, they adopted its ceremonial significance. These chairs were indispensable in the homes of men and women of rank. Refinements of these chairs became the "stools of divinity" and were commonly seen depicted  on vases and relief.

27BC-14AD Augustus on Curulle Chair

CALIGULA, 37-41. Sestertius. /Caligula, standing on a dais with curule chair or sella castrensis camp chair behind, extending right hand in a gesture of address. Five soldiers wearing crested helmets holding parazonia standards and shields stand before him listening

54 BC Pompeii. Coin commemorating curulle chairs

The X-chair became the prototype of the Roman chair, the curulle chair or sella curullis. The Romans gave the chair a  more imposing appearance by placing it on a podium or carriageor given high legs and a footrest. Like the Egyptians and the Greeks, the Romans also used cushions. Later, this chair appeared in ceremonies of the Catholic church. Various inscriptions suggest that the right of using a seat of this kind was granted as a mark of honour to distinguished persons by the magistrates. 

October 2003 excavation by Museum of London Archaeology Services

One of the found objects at the excavation of a Saxon king was a folding stool believed to be from Italy or the area which is now the modern Slovakia or Hungary.

Modern interpretation of a Maharajah's Chair

 Bone inlaid X-Chairs Made In India

Bone inlaid X-Chairs Made In India

Furniture was introduced to India by the English, Portuguese and Dutch. Until then, even common furniture like chairs and tables were rarely used there. Although they were known largely as adapters or transformers of Western style rather than the creators of their own  independent  style where furniture is concerned,  Indian wood craftsmen are widely sought after  for their excellent and detailed work. It is thus not surprising that bone inlaid X-chairs are now associated with India. 

Barcelona chair by Mies Van der Rohe for the German Pavillion

Till today, the simple X-chairs continue to inspire and you see them in various forms in households all over the world. 

As you can see, even dolls want them now.