3. Nov -Dec 2011

ACCESSORIES
accessories have a special place at the fifty-five window
palace of Bhaktapur, where the walls of the King’s room
were found to house alcoves shaped according to the
accessories that fit into them.
As we move away from Nepal and into the rest of the
ancient world, the presence of furniture in ancient Egypt
is preserved and proved by the offerings made to the
deceased pharaohs found in their tombs. Offering tables
to present food to the dead, and chairs for them to rest
on, as well as trunks with possessions that they may
use in their afterlife, paint a picture that indicates the
use of furniture in ancient Egyptian life, both before and
after death. Other depictions of furniture use in ancient
times come from Egyptian hieroglyphics and Greek
pottery, both of which portray people using furniture. The
authenticity of these portraits, either as genuine scenes
from the lives of people, or as artistic representation,
cannot be entirely verified. Studies have shown however
that furniture gradually became an integral part of
life for affluent people in the past, whereas for the
commoners furniture was quite basic and sometimes
even nonexistent.
The ancient Greeks developed their furniture based on
some basic ideas borrowed from the Egyptians, which
were gradually modified to form furniture pieces in
Greek designs. The Greeks used a variety of furniture
ranging from stools, couches (which were used for both
sitting and sleeping), tables (used to place food), chests
and chairs. A notable type of chair designed by the
Greeks is the Klismos, with slight curvature in its back and
legs and a shapely free flowing design. The design trends
in ancient Greece were largely modified and developed
to account for practicality and comfort, thus influencing
ideas of design even today.
When looking into the materials that furniture is made
of there are literally hundreds of materials one can use,
but the dominant material through history has been, and
continues to be, wood. Wood is naturally available in
almost all places that humans have inhabited; it is easily
workable and is capable of carrying load. Some of the
popular kinds of wood that are used in furniture are oak,
walnut, mahogany, pine, cherry, teak etc. The reason
why wood has also been popular through the ages is
because it can render to the different needs of different
taste. One can see how during the decorative Gothic (and
post Gothic) ages, carved wood was used in the panels,
legs and stands of furniture, and how simplistic designs
were later made using thinner slices and veneers. Use
of wood is predominant in the minimalistic Japanese as
well as the highly decorative Chinese furniture of the
east. As technology gradually developed, designs could
be as minimalistic or as extravagant as one wished, and
wood was a material that provided the flexibility and the
capability to do all that.
Today furniture is a branch of design that can, and
has, used almost any material imaginable. These have
spacesnepal.com 20
November - December 2011