Classical Order

Is the klismos chair the most ancient piece of furniture still in rotation?

- By HANNAH MARTIN

VILLA KÉRYLOS, A GREEK REVIVAL HOME IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE, BOASTS MANY PRIME EXAMPLES OF THE KLISMOS CHAIR.

On a visit to the British Museum in the 1930s, the American interior designer T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings found himself entranced by several fifth-century vessels from ancient Greece. “On these vases I saw furniture that was young, untouched by time,” he later reflected on the lifestyle imagery of the classical period. “Vitality surged through this furniture.”

He was contemplating the klismos, a sculptural chair with a curved backrest, woven seat, and tapered saber legs that swoop like apostrophes. In the images—now mostly found on funerary vessels, painted pottery, and bas-reliefs—sitters assume a relaxed posture, their hands often gliding to rest on the low back.