Stool
Author: Unknown
Origin: Unknown
Dating: 18th century
Material: Wood, Velvet & Metal
Dimensions (cm): 53 x 59,3 x 45,3
Inv. no.: MNMC2842 / PD1161
A stool with a upholstered seat in velvet, with golden nailing and triangular fringes. The base has carved legs and crosspieces with chamfered squares and spheres.
It is one of the earliest forms of individual seat furniture, without arms or backrest. Initially, stools were cylindrical – resembling drums (tambores) – and that gave way to its Portuguese name: tamborete.
By the 17th century, in the French Versailles Court of Louis XIV, for one to sit on a stool by the Royal Family was considered a great honour. At this time, stools had richly elaborated curved legs, upholstered seats decorated with fringes and they were ceremonially carried around by servants with wigs and livery uniforms.
In the following century, stools became fashionable in households – particularly in France and England – but, from the 19th century onwards, they became merely decorative.
