A watchman's chair is a design of
unupholstered wood construction featuring a forward slanted seat, such that the
watchman could not readily fall asleep without sliding downward and off the front of the chair.
Design
The design was developed in
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...
, and was used from late medieval times well into the 19th century.
Currently this
antique furniture item is found primarily in the possession of collectors and
museum
A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...
s.
In literature
There are a number of references to the watchman's chair in literature such as the allusion to its use in Collins's ''Jezebel''.
Sir Toby was described to be sitting in a canopied watchman's chair in one of
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
's plays.
[''The Shakespeare Season at The Old Vic, 1957-58 and Stratford-upon-Avon, 1958'', M. St. Clare Byrne, Shakespeare Quarterly, Vol. 9, No. 4 (Autumn, 1958), pp. 507-530]
See also
*
Curule chair
A curule seat is a design of a (usually) foldable and transportable chair noted for its uses in Ancient Rome and Europe through to the 20th century. Its status in early Rome as a symbol of political or military power carried over to other civiliza ...
*
Turned chair
*
Acapulco Chair
References
External links
Ergonomic Office Chair
Chairs
History of furniture
Security
{{furniture-stub