Klismos Chair

Klismos chairs are adored by Patricia Gray. The klismos chair was invented by the ancient Greeks, and characteristically has four outswept saber legs and a concave toprail atop two curved backrails. The seats can be woven, as they typically were in ancient Greece, or can be made from solid wood, as in the present example. The chairs are sometimes given arms, sometimes not. Klismos chairs were first designed to be elegrant and light, so that they could be carried easily: their popularity in 5th-century BC Greece is attested to by their frequent appearance in Greek pottery paintings from that time. The klismos virtually disappeared after the 4th century BC, until reappearing in the 18th century, when the rise of neoclassicism and the renewed interest in antiquities inspired many designers, including Georges Jacob and Thomas Hope, to revive the ancient form. (This is cool: design your own Thomas Hope inspired room here.)