The chair as status symbol

In the Mediterranean area folding chairs like the one from Guldhøj were important pieces of furniture. The folding chair was used as seating in the Mediterranean area in the city and palace cultures of the 15th-13th century BC. The chairs were also used as grave goods in the richest graves. For example a fine folding chair stood in Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt. It was made of ebony and ivory and it had gold fittings. Tutankhamun died in 1327 BC. Around the year 1400 BC folding chairs appeared in northern Europe. The chair from Guldhøj was made in Denmark, but its design reveals that it was made with inspiration from faraway models. Its use continued for some time to come. The folding chair marked the high rank of the seated person in connection with ceremonies. The folding chairs that are found in the north must be symbols of status and they reflect contacts with the cultures that flourished in the eastern Mediterranean at that time.