Where would they stand all day?; What did a throne look like during ancient Egypt?; In the 1800s, most homes in America already had chairs for the number of people; Naturalist Charles Darwin attached wheels to a chair in his study to make the most of time.

כיסא מאסטר פיט טיק

It is likely that when you read the following lines, you are sitting comfortably on a chair, bench or an armchair. But have you taken a moment to ask yourself who invented the chair, what did people sit on in ancient times and when did chairs become common? We will try to answer all this in the following lines.

A chair from the legends

There is an interesting legend about a king named Gilgamesh. King Gilgamesh saw his people standing during the day without rest until the night came. So they would lie in their bed. Gilgamesh took pity on them and promised them to find a solution. He climbed a high mountain, where he was able to speak with the king of the gods, and he revealed the seat to him. Thus Gilgamesh created the device called a chair and rest and well-being came to his suffering people. But all this is a legend. And like a legend it is often an urban legend.

The chair in the Bible

The first chair is already mentioned in the Bible in the book of Judges: "And Ehud came to him and he was sitting on the top of the case that he had alone, and Ehud said, God has spoken to me to you, and he stood up above the throne" (Judges 3:20).
Before that, the Pharaoh's throne is already mentioned "from the firstborn of Pharaoh sitting on his throne"... and there the reference is to the royal throne.

The European chair

Sitting on the floor was common in Europe in the 1920s. Even today, people are seen sitting on the floor in certain circumstances, when they are looking for comfort that they cannot find. There are restaurants where you sit on the floor, and even with the Bedouins the tent is devoid of chairs. 

In the Jewish world, there are times when you sit on the floor, such as during tikkun chachatz, on Tisha B'Av or, God forbid, during shiva for a relative. 

The oldest chair in the world:

History tells us that back in ancient Egypt, about three thousand years BC, members of the upper class sat on chairs. The chairs from the past remind the chairs of today. They were carved from wood and ivory and covered with cloth or animal skin. Evidence for this was found when chairs were found inside the tombs and by finding antiquities attributed to the years of ancient Egypt 

The difference between the chairs of yesteryear and today

The seat of the chair was at a height of twenty-five centimeters from the floor. This is compared to our chairs that are built to a height of forty-five centimeters from the floor to the seat. The common people sat on stones and branches. In later years only the owner of the house would sit on a chair and his family members would sit on the floor. 

In the 15th century, during the Renaissance, the chair became a standard piece of furniture found in every home, and the status of the chair began to change. People opened shops to sell chairs and different designs of chairs developed.

In the 1800s, most homes in America already had enough chairs for each family member.

Types of chairs

Throughout history, chairs have evolved into different types from different raw materials:
In the beginning, all the thrones were made of iron, wood and thrones of gold, copper and silver. In the 20th century they began to produce Plastic chairs.

bar chairs: 

The idea of the bar stool, which is tall and has leg support, was originally intended for high bar tables. But today you can find bar stools in every modern house and in a variety of raw materials such as wood, metal, plastic and more... with a back rest and those without. Wooden bar stools are located next to the kitchen island, which gives a feeling of lightness reminiscent of your favorite bar. In the 'chair and bar design' you will find a huge variety of modern and high quality bar chairs. 

Office chair on wheels: 

We have no idea who invented the office wheelchair, but as far as we know, the first to attach wheels to his office chair was naturalist Charles Darwin. He attached wheels to a chair in his study so he wouldn't waste time and could get to his samples more quickly.