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Main article: History of the chair
Five three-legged chairs around a low-legged table from Sliven 19th Century Lifestyle Museum
The chair has been used since antiquity, although for many centuries it was a symbolic article of
state and dignity rather than an article for ordinary use. "The chair" is still used as the emblem of
authority in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom[7] and Canada,[8] and in many other
settings. In keeping with this historical connotation of the "chair" as the symbol of authority,
committees, boards of directors, and academic departments all have a 'chairman' or 'chair'.
Endowed professorships are referred to as chairs. [10] It was not until the 16th century that chairs
[9]
became common.[11] Until then, people sat on chests, benches, and stools, which were the ordinary
seats of everyday life. The number of chairs which have survived from an earlier date is exceedingly
limited; most examples are of ecclesiastical, seigneurial or feudal origin.[citation needed]
Chairs were in existence since at least the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt (c. 3100 BC). They were
covered with cloth or leather, were made of carved wood, and were much lower than today's chairs
– chair seats were sometimes only 10 inches (25 cm) high.[12] In ancient Egypt chairs appear to have
been of great richness and splendor. Fashioned of ebony and ivory, or of carved and gilded wood,
they were covered with costly materials, magnificent patterns and supported upon representations of
the legs of beasts or the figures of captives. Generally speaking, the higher ranked an individual
was, the taller and more sumptuous was the chair he sat on and the greater the honor. On state
occasions the pharaoh sat on a throne, often with a little footstool in front of it.[13]
The average Egyptian family seldom had chairs, and if they did, it was usually only the master of the
household who sat on a chair. Among the better off, the chairs might be painted to look like the
ornate inlaid and carved chairs of the rich, but the craftsmanship was usually poor. [12]
The earliest images of chairs in China are from sixth-century Buddhist murals and stele, but the
practice of sitting in chairs at that time was rare. It wasn't until the twelfth century that chairs became
widespread in China. Scholars disagree on the reasons for the adoption of the chair. The most
common theories are that the chair was an outgrowth of indigenous Chinese furniture, that it evolved
from a camp stool imported from Central Asia, that it was introduced to China by Christian
missionaries in the seventh century, and that the chair came to China from India as a form of
Buddhist monastic furniture. In modern China, unlike Korea or Japan, it is no longer common to sit at
floor level.[15]
In Europe, it was owing in great measure to the Renaissance that the chair ceased to be a privilege
of state and became a standard item of furniture for anyone who could afford to buy it. Once the idea
of privilege faded the chair speedily came into general use. Almost at once the chair began to
change every few years to reflect the fashions of the day. [16]
In the 1880s, chairs became more common in American households and usually there was a chair
provided for every family member to sit down to dinner. By the 1830s, factory-manufactured “fancy
chairs” like those by Sears. Roebuck, and Co. allowed families to purchase machined sets. With the
Industrial Revolution, chairs became much more available. [17]
The Sacco chair, designed in 1968, is now the basis of bean bag chairs
The 20th century saw an increasing use of technology in chair construction with such things as all-
metal folding chairs, metal-legged chairs, the Slumber Chair,[citation needed] moulded plastic chairs and
ergonomic chairs.[18] The recliner became a popular form, at least in part due to radio and television.
The modern movement of the 1960s produced new forms of chairs: the butterfly chair (originally
called the Hardoy chair), bean bags, and the egg-shaped pod chair that turns. It also introduced the
first mass-produced plastic chairs such as the Bofinger chair in 1966. [19] Technological advances led
to molded plywood and wood laminate chairs, as well as chairs made of leather or polymers.
Mechanical technology incorporated into the chair enabled adjustable chairs, especially
for office use. Motors embedded in the chair resulted in massage chairs.[20]
Materials
Chairs can be made from wood, metal, or other strong materials, like stone or acrylic. In some
cases, multiple materials are used to construct a chair; for example, the legs and frame may be
made from metal and the seat and back may be made from plastic. Chairs may have hard surfaces
of wood, metal, plastic, or other materials, or some or all of these hard surfaces may be covered with
upholstery or padding. The design may be made of porous materials, or be drilled with holes for
decoration; a low back or gaps can provide ventilation. The back may extend above the height of the
occupant's head, which can optionally contain a headrest. Chairs can also be made from more
creative materials, such as recycled materials like cutlery and wooden play bricks, pencils, plumbing
tubes, rope, corrugated cardboard, and PVC pipe.[21]
In rare cases, chairs are made out of unusual materials, especially as a form of art or
experimentation. Raimonds Cirulis, a Latvian interior designer, created a volcanic hanging chair that
is a handmade out of volcanic rock.[22][23] Peter Brenner, a Dutch-born German designer, has created
a chair made from lollipop sugar – 60 pounds (27 kg) of confectioners' sugar.[24]
Chair design considers intended usage, ergonomics (how comfortable it is for the occupant), [25] as
well as non-ergonomic functional requirements such as size, stacking ability, folding ability,
weight, durability, stain resistance, and artistic design. Intended usage determines the desired
seating position. "Task chairs", or any chair intended for people to work at a desk or table, including
dining chairs, can only recline very slightly; otherwise the occupant is too far away from the desk or
table. Dental chairs are necessarily reclined. Easy chairs for watching television or movies are
somewhere in between depending on the height of the screen.
Ergonomic design distributes the weight of the occupant to various parts of the body. A seat that is
higher results in dangling feet and increased pressure on the underside of the knees ("popliteal
fold"). It may also result in no weight on the feet which means more weight elsewhere. A lower seat
may shift too much weight to the "seat bones" ("ischial tuberosities").
A reclining seat and back will shift weight to the occupant's back. This may be more comfortable for
some in reducing weight on the seat area, but may be problematic for others who have bad backs. In
general, if the occupant is supposed to sit for a long time, weight needs to be taken off the seat area
and thus "easy" chairs intended for long periods of sitting are generally at least slightly reclined.
However, reclining may not be suitable for chairs intended for work or eating at table.
The back of the chair will support some of the weight of the occupant, reducing the weight on other
parts of the body. In general, backrests come in three heights: Lower back backrests support only
the lumbar region. Shoulder height backrests support the entire back
and shoulders. Headrests support the head as well and are important in vehicles for preventing
"whiplash" neck injuries in rear-end collisions where the head is jerked back suddenly. Reclining
chairs typically have at least shoulder-height backrests to shift weight to the shoulders instead of just
the lower back.
Some chairs have foot rests. Around 15% of women and 2% of men need foot rests, even at the 16-
inch (41 cm) chair height.[26] A stool or other simple chair may have a simple straight or curved bar
near the bottom for the sitter to place their feet on.
Some chairs have two curved bands of wood (also known as rockers) attached to the bottom of the
legs. They are called rocking chairs.
The type of chair popular in western Hubei, China: with a fairly low seat and the back inclined at about 45
degrees from the vertical
A kneeling chair adds an additional body part, the knees, to support the weight of the body. A sit-
stand chair distributes most of the weight of the occupant to the feet. Many chairs are padded or
have cushions. Padding can be on the seat of the chair only, on the seat and back, or also on any
arm rests or foot rest the chair may have. Padding will not shift the weight to different parts of the
body (unless the chair is so soft that the shape is altered). However, padding does distribute the
weight by increasing the area of contact between the chair and the body. A hard wood chair feels
hard because the contact point between the occupant and the chair is small. The same body weight
over a smaller area means greater pressure on that area. Spreading the area reduces the pressure
at any given point. In lieu of padding, flexible materials, such as wicker, may be used instead with
similar effects of distributing the weight. Since most of the body weight is supported in the back of
the seat, padding there should be firmer than the front of the seat which only has the weight of the
legs to support. Chairs that have padding that is the same density front and back will feel soft in the
back area and hard to the underside of the knees.
There may be cases where padding is not desirable, such as chairs that are intended primarily for
outdoor use. Where padding is not desirable, contouring may be used instead. A contoured seat pan
attempts to distribute weight without padding. By matching the shape of the occupant's buttocks,
weight is distributed and maximum pressure is reduced.
Churchchairs
Armrests
Main article: Armrest
A chair may or may not have armrests; chairs with armrests are termed "armchairs". In French, a
distinction is made between fauteuil and chaise, the terms for chairs with and without armrests,
respectively. In Germany, an armchair was once called a Krankensessel, or sick-chair, because it
was intended for people who were too ill to stand or sit without extra support. [29]
If present, armrests will support part of the body weight through the arms if the arms are resting on
the armrests. Armrests further have the function of making entry and exit from the chair easier (but
from the side it becomes more difficult). Armrests should support the forearm and not the sensitive
elbow area. Hence in some chair designs, the armrest is not continuous to the chair back, but is
missing in the elbow area.
Seats
Polypropylene (molded plastic) seats and stainless steel legs in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This type of material is
very useful in seaside areas.
Chair seats vary widely in construction and may or may not match construction of the chair's back
(backrest).
Some systems include:
Design considerations for chairs have been codified into standards. ISO 9241, "Ergonomic
requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs) – Part 5: Workstation layout and
postural requirements", is the most common one for modern chair design.
There are multiple specific standards for different types of chairs. Dental chairs are specified by ISO
6875. Bean bag chairs are specified by ANSI standard ASTM F1912-98.[30] ISO 7174 specifies
stability of rocking and tilting chairs. ASTM F1858-98 specifies plastic lawn chairs. ASTM E1822-02b
defines the combustibility of chairs when they are stacked.
The Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer's Association (BIFMA) [31] defines ANSI/BIFMA
X5.1 (titled: General-Purpose Office Chairs – Tests) for testing of commercial-grade chairs. It
specifies things like:
Accessories
AISI 304 stainless steel laboratory chair with gas springs and caster wheels, a specific type of chair for a work
environment
In place of a built-in footrest, some chairs come with a matching ottoman. An ottoman is a short stool
that is intended to be used as a footrest but can sometimes be used as a stool. If matched to a glider
chair, the ottoman may be mounted on swing arms so that the ottoman rocks back and forth with the
main glider.
A chair cover is a temporary fabric cover for a side chair. They are typically rented for formal events
such as wedding receptions to increase the attractiveness of the chairs and decor. The chair covers
may come with decorative chair ties, a ribbon to be tied as a bow behind the chair. Covers for sofas
and couches are also available for homes with small children and pets. In the second half of the 20th
century, some people used custom clear plastic covers for expensive sofas and chairs to protect
them.
Chair pads are cushions for chairs. They contain cotton or foam for padding. Some are decorative.
In cars, they may be used to increase the height of the driver. Orthopedic backrests provide support
for the back. Car seats sometimes have built-in and adjustable lumbar supports. These can also be
used on kitchen chairs.
Chair mats are mats meant to cover different types of flooring. They are usually made from plastic.
This allows chairs on wheels to roll easily over the carpet and protects the carpet or floor. They
come in various shapes, some specifically sized to fit partially under a desk.
Remote control bags can be draped over the arm of easy chairs or sofas and used to hold remote
controls for home cinemas. They are counter-weighted so as to not slide off the arms under the
weight of the remote controls.
Chair glides are attached to the feet of chairs to prevent them from scratching or snagging on the
floor.
The Broken Chair is a monumental sculpture in wood, constructed of 5.5 tons of wood, 12 metres
(39 ft) high standing across the street from the Palace of Nations in Geneva. It has broken leg
symbolizing opposition to land mines and cluster bombs. In 2001, Steve Mann exhibited a chair
sculpture at San Francisco Art Institute. The chair had spikes that retracted when a credit card was
inserted to download a seating license. Later other museums and galleries were equipped with the
"Pay to Sit" chair, with a global central seating license server located in Toronto. The first sitting
session was free, with a database of persons who had already used their free session.
In a performance piece at the 2012 Republican Political Convention, Clint Eastwood addressed an
empty chair, as if it represented President Barack Obama (meant to be construed as MIA or
ineffectual). The address was controversial, whether it was poignant or bizarre. [34] Japanese
designer Tokujin Yoshioka has created several chairs as art forms such as "Honey-pop": honey-
comb paper chair (2001), "Pane chair": natural fiber chair (2006), "Venus": natural crystal chair
(2007).
In language
If someone "nearly fell off their chair" after being informed about something, it was because
they were very shocked or surprised.[35]
An orchestra awards the best player in a particular section a "chair" or "principal seat" based
on ability. The first chair of the section plays the solos, and in string sections, determines the
bowings. In professional orchestras, the first chair player receives higher pay. It is also common
for this position to be known as "first stand", a reference to the portable lectern on which the
musicians put their sheet music. However, the person who is first chair in the first violin section
is usually referred to as the concertmaster in the US or leader in the UK.
In academia, an endowed chair is a prestigious appointment for a professor, paid for by a
dedicated funding source.
A chair is the highest officer of an organized group, such as the chair of the board, the head
of the Board of Directors in a company or non-profit organization.
"Musical chairs" is a common party game, and a colloquial expression to describe people
shuffling from seat to seat, around different locations, or from one job title to another.
In American slang, to say someone will "get the chair" is to say that they will be executed by
an electric chair.[36] Alternatively, it can be a metaphor for other harsh punishment.[36]