The quality and popularity of Italian furniture have never been in doubt, but that they also have a history and diversity of design is perhaps not so well known. The variety of styles can be traced back to ancient Rome where the predominance of the attention grabbing, elaborate architecture meant a more simplistic (though still rather elegant) style was preferred for the interior furnishings. In short they were mainly built for comfort.
On the other hand the more modern style that was first first produced in the Italian province of Tuscany betrays an intricacy of design to rival that of the architecture of ancient Rome. In actual fact the Tuscan style actually incorporates a combination of several elements of architectural design. The style also uses materials such as, for example, iron and marble to enrich the extremely decorative designs.
A further division of the furniture of Italy can lead us into categorizing it into a number of different styles. These would include the Baroque, the Renaissance and the Rococo style which much like the modern style of Tuscany can all be dated back to the fourteenth century onwards.
The array of furnishings that would fill the homes of ancient Rome would consist of pieces ranging from couches to cabinets and from stools to chairs and of course beds. The "triclinium" (basically the dining area) would include a couple or more reclining couches which would be spread about a small table. Similar reclining couches could be found in the "cubiculum" (the bedroom) where they would be used as both a bed and as an easy chair.
These couches were actually known as "lectus" couches and were constructed with a frame laced with leather straps upon which would be placed the mattress. Next the mattress, usually made from straw or wool, would be adorned with an intricately patterned coverlet and matching pillows. This lectus (like all the pieces) would, more often than not, be made from veneered cedar wood while the embellishments were generally of ivory, tortoise shell and even perhaps precious metals.
If one could visit a home of ancient Rome now, a lot could be read into the layout and specific use of each piece. The social status of a person could be ascertained by the size of the couch on which they sat; the higher the couch the more important the person. The status of women could also be revealed as their obligation to sit whilst eating indicated their obvious subservience. Suffice to say, any change in seating arrangements would betray a correlating change in rank.
On the political front, at the Colosseum one could witness a similar situation much enlarged. The emperor himself would sit alone in a "bisellium", an intricate chair actually made for two, this would in turn be placed on a "pulvinar" (a raised platform). The senators meanwhile would carry their own ivory stools while the ordinary citizens would have to make do with wooden slabs.
On the other hand the more modern style that was first first produced in the Italian province of Tuscany betrays an intricacy of design to rival that of the architecture of ancient Rome. In actual fact the Tuscan style actually incorporates a combination of several elements of architectural design. The style also uses materials such as, for example, iron and marble to enrich the extremely decorative designs.
A further division of the furniture of Italy can lead us into categorizing it into a number of different styles. These would include the Baroque, the Renaissance and the Rococo style which much like the modern style of Tuscany can all be dated back to the fourteenth century onwards.
The array of furnishings that would fill the homes of ancient Rome would consist of pieces ranging from couches to cabinets and from stools to chairs and of course beds. The "triclinium" (basically the dining area) would include a couple or more reclining couches which would be spread about a small table. Similar reclining couches could be found in the "cubiculum" (the bedroom) where they would be used as both a bed and as an easy chair.
These couches were actually known as "lectus" couches and were constructed with a frame laced with leather straps upon which would be placed the mattress. Next the mattress, usually made from straw or wool, would be adorned with an intricately patterned coverlet and matching pillows. This lectus (like all the pieces) would, more often than not, be made from veneered cedar wood while the embellishments were generally of ivory, tortoise shell and even perhaps precious metals.
If one could visit a home of ancient Rome now, a lot could be read into the layout and specific use of each piece. The social status of a person could be ascertained by the size of the couch on which they sat; the higher the couch the more important the person. The status of women could also be revealed as their obligation to sit whilst eating indicated their obvious subservience. Suffice to say, any change in seating arrangements would betray a correlating change in rank.
On the political front, at the Colosseum one could witness a similar situation much enlarged. The emperor himself would sit alone in a "bisellium", an intricate chair actually made for two, this would in turn be placed on a "pulvinar" (a raised platform). The senators meanwhile would carry their own ivory stools while the ordinary citizens would have to make do with wooden slabs.
No comments:
Post a Comment