EMPIRE FURNITURE

The Curule chair came about in Etruria (referred to in Greek texts as Tyrrhenia , now known as Tuscany) and was found on surviving Etruscan monuments to identify magistrates. Much earlier stools that were supported on a cross-frame are known from the New Kingdom of Egypt. Curule chairs were designed for the officials of the highest government dignitaries. It was originally made of ivory, without arms and it was usually inlaid with ivory and precious metals. It served a seat for the positioned in power, and later the emperor himself. (Read More.....)