![]() Whether your preference is stretching out on a plush sofa, such as the Serpentine, designed by Vladimir Kagan, or cozying up in a vintage wingback chair, there is likely to be a comfy classic or contemporary gem for you on 1stDibs. Of course, with luxurious vintage or antique furnishings, every chair can seem like the best seat in the house. In the kitchen, the dining chair placed at the head of the table is typically reserved for the head of the household or a revered guest. Much like the thrones of fairy tales and the regency, elegant lounges crafted in the Louis XV style convey wealth and prestige. Antique desk chairs and armchairs designed in the style of Louis XV, which eventually included painted furniture and were often made of rare woods, feature prominently curved legs as well as Chinese themes and varied ornaments. The seating of today is more inclusive but the style and placement of chairs can still make a statement. In the 18th century and earlier, seats with backs and armrests were largely reserved for high nobility. These rudimentary chairs informed the design of Greek and Roman stools, all of which were a long way from Sori Yanagi's Butterfly stool or Alvar Aalto's Stool 60. Egyptian stools, for example, designed for one person with no seat back, were x-shaped and typically folded to be tucked away. As the story goes, when fellow designer Finn Juhl first laid eyes on the chair’s backrest, he proclaimed it resembled a peacock’s tail and promptly named it after the colorful bird.With entire areas of our homes reserved for “sitting rooms,” the value of quality antique and vintage seating cannot be overstated.įortunately, the design of side chairs, armchairs and other lounge furniture - since what were, quite literally, the early perches of our ancestors - has evolved considerably.Īmong the earliest standard seating furniture were stools. Originally manufactured by Johannes Hansen, the solid wooden seat-currently produced by Denmark furniture company PP Møbler- was inspired by the English Windsor, and was intended to be a more ergonomic version of its predecessor, with a back supported by a fan of flat (as opposed to rounded) spindles. ![]() The wicker piece is not to be confused with the Peacock chair created by Danish furniture maker Hans J. (Want your own bohemian Peacock chair? Now listed on 1stDibs, this vintage piece from the 1970s can be yours for around $2,200, shipping included!) Ever since then, the seat has arguably become a ubiquitous symbol of freedom and debauchery. Its popularity skyrocketed even more in 1974, after actress Sylvia Kristel was featured topless in the chair in the French erotic film, Emmanuelle. In the 1960s, the distinct seat made an appearance in several movies-not to mention the hit TV series The Addams Family, where it served as Morticia Addams’s regal throne. ![]() during the mid-20th century, after many celebrities-among them, Dolly Parton, Al Green, and Donna Summer-began using the chair as a prop in publicity shoots. Fittingly, the first photograph of anyone sitting in a Peacock chair, taken in 1914, is of an inmate with her child at Manila’s Bilibid Prison, where prisoners reportedly crafted and peddled woven furnishings on site. According to Phaidon, the iconic piece “is likely to have originated in the Philippines," which explains why it’s sometimes referred to as the “Manila” or “Philippine” chair. While the origins of the Peacock chair are hotly debated, many reports claim that the wicker seat-characterized by a flared back that mimics the fanned feathers of the fowl after which it’s named-was born in Asia.
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