The oldest known samples of furniture were found in Egypt in the royal tombs of the III century BC. This is the wreckage of caskets made of ebony, inlaid with ivory, malachite and turquoise. There also have been found and the first in the history of mankind stools, one of whom was even folding. These stools were made of wood, and legs in the form of animals’ hooves are cut from whole elephant tusks. The ancient Egyptians are also “authors” of beds and chairs.
The first furniture created by man, was tough and very functional. Only the Egyptian pharaohs could afford to sit in a chair decorated with gold plates and complex carvings.
Great, but unpretentious in everyday life, the Greeks invented GEL – original boxes, which served both cots and benches.
But in the palaces and country villas of the nobility in ancient Rome, the furniture was a little too luxurious, decorated with carvings and inlays, gold and colored enamel. In the quest for luxury Romans used and new materials for furniture production – bronze and colored marble, from which made benches and tables with mosaic tops. A Roman artisans for their homes creating a convenient and inexpensive furniture, woven wicker. Learn more about furniture from ESF!
Much later a chair, table and bed was born wardrobe. It happened in Middle Ages, Gothic castles of feudal Europe. The prototype served his chest-the chest, which tried to reach up from the abundance of stored items and turned into a closet, just taking one of the main places in the hierarchy of the furniture. The cabinet began to imitate the Gothic castles, decorated with the likeness of turrets, towers and even a wooden sculpture.
Very easy to use for different purposes, a case was the founder of the furniture, “Dynasty”: it later emerged from the cupboard with glass doors, the glass when we have learned to pour a large area, and then appeared, and a bookcase. With the development of carpentry craft and imagination of man, created a hybrid of desktop and cabinet offices.
Upholstered furniture has arisen in the castles of European nobility in the period of classicism. In France, a trendsetter in interior decoration, at this time the residence of kings are built and not lagging behind their palaces of the nobility. First, the furniture, designed to seat only covered with a cloth. Then, when the owners of castles more accustomed to the luxury and comfort, and their clothes become lighter, less insulated and layered, to sit on hard chairs and sofas was not very comfortable. “Jammed” furniture horsehair, wool, swan’s down, and later became used rubber, and in our time, and foam padding polyester.
As time passed, there were new styles in architecture and interior design, and each of them, or alter existing pieces of furniture, or create something entirely new. Baroque “brought” and chaise sofa, rococo, with its love of mirrors – mirror and a table for the toilet with tricuspid mirror – mirrors. Modern “invented” a chair without armrests and a backrest in a half shell. Living modified, then simplifying, the more difficult, depending on fashion trends. There were a chair without back – poof and without back the same, but with cushions, sofa – couch. Secretaries, sideboards, chests of drawers and shelves – it is transforming the options cabinet.
In addition to architectural styles, the furniture is “dependent” and the country where it was created. In France, – an elegant and decorative, in Germany – strong with abundant sculptural decoration, showing the wealth owner in Scandinavia – a convenient and functional. And the British have even created their own style by master cabinet T.Chippendeylu who gave the name of this style. The rationality of such a form of furniture made of precious wood combined with a skillful and subtle decor. Imitation chippendeylovskomu style in the United States has been called colonial style furniture.
Quite separately and independently of European influences are the interiors of the East. A lot of things out of woven cane, rope or strips of leather furniture made of dark, almost black wood. Everything is low, unusual for a European eyes screens and ottomans, benches, inserted one into the other, small tables.
Russia also contributed to the formation of furniture styles. The peculiarity of our country – the harsh climate, and accommodations, heated oven, were small, and families living in them, may consist of several generations. Therefore, the furniture was monogofunktsionalnoy. The invention of Russian Interior – shop – it is wide and long benches without backs.
During the day on it sat a few people, but at night it served as a bed to someone. When the Russian way of life caught up in comfort with the European (and sometimes even surpassed it), the interiors in the style of Russian classicism also had its own peculiarities: first of all this material – the Karelian birch with a unique decorative wood pattern. The interiors of houses of nobles, even the interiors of the royal residence of the housing – a cottage in Petrodvorets – not pretentious, they lacked an unnecessary luxury. Light wood and silk upholstery, high bookcases and large desks with frosted shades table lamps in offices, cupboards glass doors (“hills”) in the dining room with china imperial factories – all very noble and functional.
In the twentieth century chemistry is booming, and the emergence of new synthetic materials and plastics produced an explosion in the furniture industry. Minimalism 60s creates a thin-legged tables and plastic chairs, plastic light-cones. Manufacture of furniture was mass-production of the piece, wood substitutes changed. Further development of the furniture industry leads to the appearance of suites – is practically furnished room. And as the top line production – the horror the recent past: the same “wall” and the furniture upholstered in the same model homes.
The current time will put everything on the sites: a large variety of styles, quality construction (from manual work to the flow), the materials used, and, respectively, and a large price spread – is the current state of the furniture market. Changed lifestyle and new types of furniture. Furniture for the audio and video equipment, computer desks, couches, transformers, which has everything from folding tables to the tumblers, and built-in speakers. Now everyone is guided in the selection of furniture their taste and advice designer, limited sense of proportion and pay. Creating furniture became an art.
