Furniture (20091)

Furniture is the collective term for the movable objects which may support the human body (seating furniture and beds), provide storage, or hold objects on horizontal surfaces above the ground. more...

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Storage furniture (which often makes use of doors, drawers, and shelves) is used to hold or contain smaller objects such as clothes, tools, books, and household goods. (See List of furniture types.)

Furniture can be a product of artistic design and is considered a form of decorative art. In addition to furniture's functional role, it can serve a symbolic or religious purpose. Domestic furniture works to create, in conjunction with furnishings such as clocks and lighting, comfortable and convenient interior spaces. Furniture can be made from many materials, including metal, plastic, and wood.

Cabinetry and cabinet making are terms for the skillset used in the building of furniture.

History of European furniture

Furniture has been a part of the human experience since the development of non-nomadic cultures. Evidence of furniture from antiquity survives in the form of paintings, such as the wall Murals discovered at Pompeii; sculpture, examples of which have been excavated in Egypt; and extant pieces, such as those found in tombs in Ghiordes, in modern day Turkey. The furniture of the Middle Ages was usually heavy, oak, and ornamented with carved designs. Along with the other arts, the Italian Renaissance of the fourteenth and fifteenth century marked a rebirth in design, often inspired by the Greco-Roman tradition. A similar explosion of design, and renaissance of culture in general, occurred in Northern Europe, starting in the fifteenth century. The seventeenth century, in both Southern and Northern Europe, was characterized by opulent, and often gilded Baroque designs that frequently incoporated a profusion of vegetal and scrolling ornament. Starting in the eighteenth century, furniture designs began to develop more rapidly. Although there were some styles that belonged primarily to one nation, such as Palladianism in Great Britain, others, such as the Rococo and Neoclassicism were perpetuated throughout Western Europe. The nineteenth is usually defined by concurrent revival styles, including Gothic, Neoclassicism, and Rococo. The design reform of the late century, introduced the Aesthetic movement and the Arts and Crafts movement. Art Nouveau was influenced by both of these movements. The first three-quarters of the twentieth century are often seen as the march towards Modernism. Art Deco, De Stijl, Bauhaus, Weiner Werkstatte, and Vienna Secession designers all worked to some degree within the Modernist idiom. Postmodern design, intersecting the Pop art movement, gained steam in the 1960s and 70s, promoted by designers such as the Italy-based Memphis movement.

Shaker furniture

Shaker furniture is distinctive style developed by the Shakers, a religious sect, in the late 18th century. Shaker furniture was inspired by their ascetic beliefs and widely admired for its simplicity, innovative joinery, quality, and functionality. Shakers made furniture for their own use, as well as for sale to the general public. Many surviving examples of Shaker furniture include such popular forms as Shaker tables, chairs, rocking chairs, and bed frames.

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