The Invention of the Chair: how sitting went from being a luxury to the norm
by Shahinda Abdalla
It used to be that only kings sat on chairs, now everyone sits on a chair. Not only so, but we have a variety of chairs for different functions and settings, from office chairs to dining chairs to lounging and even birthing chairs. Chairs have been around for almost 5,000 years and for the entire duration of that period, they have evolved not only in design but in function too, matching the changes in our societies, in our norms and in our values. Every major artist or designer has tried their hand at designing a chair. It is an object historians, feminists, anthropologists and political scientists have all used to trace through history our relationship to power, to space, to our own bodies and now it has become a central part of conversations around our health. As chairs evolved from items of privilege to ones of comfort, humans are sitting now more than ever. This lack of movement and our increasingly sedentary lifestyles are having a tremendous impact on our health.
Chair made from Acacia wood with finely inlaid decoration, New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, Egypt (Image source)
Chairs as we know them today with a back rest and legs date back to the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt (3100 BC). In ancient Egypt, chairs were only used by the wealthiest and most powerful people which meant that only royalty and nobility had access to them. Like many objects that are an expression of power, the wealthier and more powerful you were, the fancier the chair you sat on was and the more expensive the materials used to adorn it. Chairs, also known as thrones, constructed in ancient Egypt were often made of wood as the base material with seats covered in cloth or leather for some extra comfort. The legs of chairs would often feature the paws of animals signifying power such as lions or bulls. Gold, precious gems, ivory, ebony and vibrantly colored glass were used to decorate and adorn these chairs making them look as extravagant as the people sitting on them.
Chinese armchair made from roots, Qing Dynasty, Qianlong reign, 18th century (Image Source)
Chairs continued to be used only by the powerful few throughout history and amongst different civilizations, from ancient Greece to Rome to the Aztecs in Mexico. It wasn’t until the 12th century in China that chairs became commonplace. In Europe, things caught up a bit later and it wasn’t until the Renaissance in the 16th century that Europeans began to adopt the chair into their daily lives. Though it is unclear to historians what exactly brought about this change; all that is known is that when chairs lost their association to privilege, they began to enter the lives of many.
Whilst some argue that chairs have become too common a feature of human life today, many others argue the opposite that chairs still remain exclusive holding onto their patriarchal nature and exclude the wellbeing of large parts of the population. Caroline Criado in Invisible Women (2019) brings to our attention that not only were chairs originally designed for men’s bodies but still remain largely so and in some areas of life, this has serious consequences that is costing lives. She notes that on average those with shorter, lighter and less muscular bodies sit further forward in car seats. Car seat design is based on a universal, typically male body type in shape, size and firmness; so while women are less likely to be involved in car crashes than men, they are more likely to be injured or die. While most remnants of the obvious relationship between chairs and power have largely vanished, there remains in our everyday language important reminders. We need only look to any professional or political body and we can see glistening beside the names of those in the highest positions of authority the title — Chair or Chairman.
Stiliyana Minkovska’s trio of chairs, Ultima Thule, 2019, rethinks the maternity ward (Image Source)