<em>Chair</em>, ca. 1400-1292 B.C.E. Wood, bone, modern fiber, 35 7/16 x 17 15/16 x 18 5/8 in. (90 x 45.6 x 47.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.40E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.40E_detail_view1.jpg)

Chair, ca. 1400-1292 B.C.E. Wood, bone, modern fiber, 35 7/16 x 17 15/16 x 18 5/8 in. (90 x 45.6 x 47.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.40E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.40E_detail_view1.jpg)

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I'd like to know what this is.

Simply put, this is a chair. The Ancient Egyptians invented chairs like this in the 2nd Dynasty and you can see similar seating depicted in some of the reliefs in the gallery. Animal feet--in this case lion--were popular on Ancient Egyptian chairs and the protrusions below the feet were designed to secure the chair in sockets.

Did Egyptian chairs not have arms?

Not usually! This style of chair was popular in Dynasty XVIII, at this time chairs were mostly armless and featured the back set into the seat just before the rear legs. A representation can be seen in this stela from the same time period.

Why are the legs of the chair like this?

The legs of the chair are meant to imitate the front and hind legs of a lion. Lions were a popular symbol of power in ancient Egyptian art.

What kind of wood?

A scientific test would need to be done to determine the species of wood, so we're not sure. We do know that it is a hard wood. An example of a hardwood that may have been used is cypress.

Thanks

I assume the chair survived by being in a tomb?

That's right! The environment of the dark, dry tombs in Egypt is what has preserved materials like wood, paper, and textiles.

How is this chair so well preserved?

It is in wonderful condition, largely due to the consistently dry climate of Egypt and the darkness inside of tombs. That same dryness did shrink the wood a bit producing the gaps you see.

The woven fiber seat is a modern reproduction added to the chair in 1958, but other than that, it is all original. In fact, some ancient cordage was found with the chair which gave conservators and idea for how to remake it.

Fantastic! Thank you.

Tell me more.

A fine chair like this was a mark of high status in ancient Egypt. Wood was rare and expensive and most people squatted on the ground. You'll notice in reliefs around the galleries that, for those who could afford them, chairs like this with lion's feet were quite popular!

What do these paws represent?

These are meant to be lions' paws, most ancient Egyptian chairs included feet like this.

In ancient Egypt, lions were revered for their power and were believed to be tied to royal authority. Lions often represented the horizon as the desert habitat linked them with the rising and setting sun and the eastern and western margins of the universe.

Chair

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor

A carpenter manufactured this chair using wooden mortises and tenons (tongueand- groove joints) and pins called dowels. Many of the ancient wooden dowels are still visible just above the point where the legs meet the seat. The carpenter filled in the spaces surrounding the tenons on the back support with an adhesive made from animal protein (“hide glue”) mixed with powdered white minerals. Although animal-based adhesives have been used in Egypt continuously from antiquity to today, the condition of these mortises and tenons suggests that they are original. The woven fiber seat was added to the chair in 1958, but examination of fibers in the frames reveals that in antiquity four strands were laced through each opening.

MEDIUM Wood, bone, modern fiber

Reportedly From: Thebes, Egypt

DATES ca. 1400-1292 B.C.E.

DYNASTY second half of Dynasty 18

PERIOD New Kingdom

DIMENSIONS 35 7/16 x 17 15/16 x 18 5/8 in. (90 x 45.6 x 47.3 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 37.40E

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

PROVENANCE Archaeological provenance not yet documented, probably from Thebes, Egypt; before 1848, reportedly found in a house on the bank of the Nile opposite Thebes; 1848, collected in Egypt by Henry Anderson in Egypt who says that it was "discovered in the house of a peasant on the bank of the Nile, opposite Thebes"; by March 6, 1877, gift of Dr. Henry Anderson or E. Ellery and Edward H. Anderson to the New-York Historical Society, New York, NY; 1937, loaned by the New-York Historical Society to the Brooklyn Museum; September 1948, purchased from the New-York Historical Society by the Brooklyn Museum.

Provenance FAQ

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Typical XVIII Dynasty side chair of an unidentified hardwood, having legs imitating the fore and hind legs of a lion. It has a high sloping back hollowed to fit the occupant's back. Ornamentation consists of alternation of light and dark wood and nine inlays of bone or ivory simulating broad headed nails of no constructional value. Construction is accomplished through joinery, gluing, and wooden pegs. Condition: Good. Several separations running with the grain of the wood. Most evident are, right front leg, frame of seat right front, and right back foot has been attached to leg by gluing. Back left has separation. Due to drying and shrinkage almost all joining places show slight to extensive separations. The several curved bracket braces are damaged and in some cases incomplete condition. Several wooden pegs are missing. Chip missing, upper left back edge.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor

CAPTION Chair, ca. 1400-1292 B.C.E. Wood, bone, modern fiber, 35 7/16 x 17 15/16 x 18 5/8 in. (90 x 45.6 x 47.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.40E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.40E_detail_view1.jpg)

IMAGE detail, CUR.37.40E_detail_view1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2010

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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