Photo via Wikimedia Commons
According to the ancient Greek poet Homer, “Goddesses liked the klismos.”
Most people do. Whether your style is traditional or modern, chances are you’ve experienced Homer’s goddess-approved chairs in one form or another — from Duncan Phyfe-style to Hans Wegner’s Wishbone chairs — as designers through the millennia have embraced the style as their own, making the klismos one of the most enduring furniture designs from antiquity.
Created by the ancient Greeks and adapted by the Romans, the klismos chair, with its four curving, splayed legs and a curved back rail with a narrow concave backrest (often carved from a single piece of wood), is both beautiful to look at and comfortable to sit in.
The archaeological excavations of the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum in the mid-1700s created a surge of interest in all things Grecian and Roman, including the klismos chair, which had been lost to history after the Roman Empire fell. Although no ancient examples survived, archaeologists found depictions of the klismos chair on ancient Roman pottery, paintings, statuaries and reliefs showing figures from all walks of life seated on elegant klismos chairs.
The graceful lines of the classical furniture depicted in the ruins of Pompeii appealed to architects and designers looking for a change from the ornate rococo styles popular at the time, and to their wealthy patrons, who discovered the ancient designs on their Grand Tours across Europe and the Ottoman Empire.
In London, Thomas Hope’s 1807 furniture pattern book, “Household Furniture and Interior Decoration,” reintroduced the klismos chair to the world. (Fun fact: It was also the first time the term “interior decoration” was used in English.) In the United States, the style was embraced by architects and designers including Duncan Phyfe and Benjamin Henry Latrobe.
One of the reasons the klismos chair has endured through the millennia is its ergonomic qualities, says Sara D. Reed, assistant professor of interior design at VCU Arts. “While they certainly aren’t La-Z-Boys, the curved back splat is more inviting than other classical forms. … Even into the 20th century, there are examples like T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings' more straightforward revival of the klismos, as well as Hans Wegner’s more abstracted interpretation.”
Xanthippos tombstone
Ancient Greece
The klismos chair first appeared sometime between the eighth and sixth centuries B.C.; the design was perfected in the fifth century B.C. Ancient Hellenic artists incorporated the klismos into their decorations on pottery and in sculptures. The ancient Greek poet Homer also immortalized the klismos chair in “The Iliad.”
Ancient Rome
The fourth century B.C. could be called the golden age of the klismos. Its popularity spread to ancient Rome, where the Romans made a few changes to the design, with legs that were less elegant and heavier. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the klismos virtually disappeared for millennia.
Brooch depicting Roman Empress Antonia Minor seated on a klismos
Age of Discovery
The 1748 excavations of the ruins of Pompeii sparked a passionate desire for anything from Greece or Rome.
The clean lines of the klismos chair were said to have inspired a design frenzy when its depiction was discovered.
Neoclassical Design Movements
The neoclassical design movements of the late 18th and early 19th centuries — English Regency, American Empire and French Directoire — incorporate the klismos style, adding stretchers to strengthen the splay legs and lowering the back (see photo at top).
Benjamin H. Latrobe designed a suite of neoclassical furniture, including klismos chairs, for President James Madison and his wife, Dolley, which were destroyed when the British burned down the White House during the War of 1812.
The ubiquitous Wishbone chair, Hans Wegner's 1949 interpretation of the klismos
Art Deco Reawakening
The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb and other ancient Roman sites brought the klismos chair back into the public eye. Reimagined and romanticized, art deco versions had streamlined forms — with straighter, upholstered backs and seats, as well as legs that were not as splayed as the originals.
1960s
T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings (Gibby, as he was called), who was known for his reconstructions of classical Greek furniture in the late ’30s, partnered with the Greek furniture maker Saridis of Athens to introduce a new line of klismos chairs, tweaked to complement modern midcentury furniture.
A fourth century Greek Lekythos, VMFA, Richmond. Gift of the Lipman Foundation.
2020
Depictions of klismos chairs can be found on ancient Greek pottery, artwork and statuary in museums around the world, including Richmond’s Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The elegant lines of the klismos chair have been tweaked, resized and reimagined by countless designers. Klismos chairs and klismos-inspired chairs are included in most furniture collections, from the traditional to modern.
“It is totally timeless,” Janet Brown, principal of Janet Brown Interiors, says of the klismos. ”It’s a great hallway chair, really a great anything chair. You can put them in any home, they blend with all styles.”
WHERE TO FIND IT
