Ancient Italian Furniture
The lifestyle of ancient Italians influenced the design style of furniture at home, at work, at temple and at play. Ownership of fine pieces depicted status and wealth, as it does today. The architecture of the period, so rich with columns, fountains, frescoes and mosaics, made elaborate furnishings unnecessary. The architectural surroundings engaged the eye and the furnishings, simple and elegant, were built for comfort and keeping cool. To a large extent, Rome influenced the style, borrowing Grecian undertones.
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Pieces
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Couches, chairs, stools, tables, chests, cabinets, beds and lamps comprised the furnishings in a well-appointed Roman home. In the "triclinium," the dining room, three reclining couches of varying heights surrounded a small low table. The open side allowed access for the server. The couch, called a "lectus," also served as a bed in the "cubiculum," the bedroom. The lectus provided a comfortable spot for sleeping, relaxing and sitting.
Materials
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Leather straps criss-crossed between the frame of a bedroom lectus supported a mattress stuffed with straw, wool or feathers and topped with a richly detailed coverlet and pillows. Embellishments might have included ivory, precious metals or tortoise-shell, according to the website Furniture Styles. Tripods, small three-legged tables, and lamps fashioned in bronze adorned wealthier homes. The Old And Sold website states that, "The Romans used chiefly cedar and veneered their furniture with olive, box, ebony, Syrian terebinth, maple, palm, holly elm, ash, and cherry."
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Social Status
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A dining scene conveyed volumes about social status. The most respected person reclined on the highest couch. An unimportant person sat on a bench nearby. Women sat while eating to avoid the unfeminine reclining position and to denote subservience. Servants stood at all times to attend to the needs of superiors. A change in seating denoted a change in the perceived social rank among those present.
Political Status
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Chairs depicted political status and the Colosseum presented an excellent opportunity for the rulers to display their power to the masses. The emperor sat on a "bisellium," an ornate chair designed for two but only ever occupied by the emperor, placed on a raised platform called a "pulvinar." The senators carried their own folding stools, called "sella curulis," that were traditionally made of ivory and configured as an X with slight arm rests. Ordinary citizens sat on wooden slabs perched over marble benches to watch the games and their leaders.
Art as Reference
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Mosaics, frescoes and urns provide additional insight to furnishings of the time. Beautifully preserved relics unearthed from Pompeii ash left a visual legacy of the households of the privileged. Plates referenced by The Classical Association depict a variety of furnishings, including a bronze lectus with a swan headboard, a marble table decorated with griffins, another displaying a sphinx and a three-legged bronze table finished in a lion's foot.
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References
- Photo Credit upholstered furniture. image by Yuri Bizgaimer from Fotolia.com
