Sgabello
Encyclopedia
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...
, when a chair
Chair
A chair is a stable, raised surface used to sit on, commonly for use by one person. Chairs are most often supported by four legs and have a back; however, a chair can have three legs or could have a different shape depending on the criteria of the chair specifications. A chair without a back or...
(sedia) usually signified an armchair
Armchair
An armchair is a chair with arm rests.Armchair may also refer to:*Armchair nanotube, a carbon nanotube with chiral symmetry*Armchair, a sitting sex position*Armchair , a bus operator in London...
, a seat of some hieratic importance. Sgabelli are generally made out of walnut and consist of a thin plank or panelled back and an octagonal seat, supported on shaped plank supports, strengthened by a stretcher, which may be turned. This seat would often be placed in hallways, and was often carved with a family's imprese or emblem drawn from its coat-of-arms. Its primary purpose was not lounging comfort.
Similar chairs were made in France. It is also known as the side chair. It has solid supports, which are called rhombus seat supports. It wasn't used for a stool.
A sgabello is an Italian Renaissance furniture object found in the sixteenth century. It is a side chair, made of walnut, with a variety of carvings and turned elements. A sgabello is armless, with a thin back and an octagonal seat, not so comfortable, not designed for long term seating. The legs can be either two decorated boards with a stretcher for support, or three separate impost legs that would be also ornamented and carved.