We, the chairs of India, stand testimony to the inventive and adaptive nature of the Indian mind. With this section, we encapsulate the story of India and provide precious insight into its unique relationship with design.

Etymologically, kursi has its origin in Arabic for ‘throne’, which finds its way to Turkish, Persian, Hindi and Urdu, with similar meaning.

The notion of elevated seating has a long history in India. Arcaded backs for seats and settees are visible in Buddhist relief sculptures [as seen previously in the Early Forms section] while chairs and divans appear in imagery from the Ajanta Caves (dating back to the 2nd century BC ) and in the Jain manuscripts of the early medieval period.

While some early seating may have been on stone or other materials, wood also appears to have been used for furniture from a very early period. Astronomer Varahamihira’s text, Brihat Samhita, (6th century AD) enumerates 14 species of wood for furniture-making, including sandalwood, teak, and blackwood. Similarly, the Shilpashastras list 64 techniques of arts and crafts and detail time for cutting and seasoning wood.

Chairs were often reserved for those in positions of authority like kings and other learned men. The common term for a king’s chair was rajasana, or mayurasana (peacock throne) and simhasana (lion throne). One of our early examples is the throne of Rao Setaram of Kannauj (12th century AD), which is structurally similar to an ordinary chair, has a high reclining back, arms, and a footrest. Another iconic example is Emperor Shah Jahan’s Peacock Throne — ascended by silver steps and backed with two peacock plumes, gilded, enamelled, inset with diamonds and semi-precious stones. (Agra,1635; Red Fort, 1648)

While each of us, in the domestic context, became unique masterpeices in the hands of skilled artisans -a broad framework is provided here, to suggest prevalent styles.

GLOBAL INFLUENCES: The advent of Islam in the Indian sub-continent inthe 7th century AD saw the gradual influence of Islamic art on practices and patterns of furniture-making in India. Relief carving or pierced work on wooden objects like screens, doors, table-tops, and the backs of chairs became common. Inlay techniques involving wooden marquetry, ceramic tiles or other materials were popular on tables and other forms. This inlay work may have developed from styles and techniques used in weapons and musical instruments, for which the finest craftsmanship was used.

With the arrival of the Portuguese and the Dutch in India during the 16th-17th centuries, furniture assumed new forms and ornamental styles. Skilled Indian craftsmen adapted their wood working skills and design traditions to European preferences, creating new Indo-Portuguese and Indo-Dutch styles. The resulting furniture was both utilitarian and aesthetic, often standing as arresting pieces of art.

COLONIAL or ANGLO-INDIAN: British imperial rule in India (1858-1947) saw the emergence of various styles such as Victorian, Georgian, Edwardian and so on, all of which can be categorised as Anglo-Indian or Colonial. Some furniture made in India followed traditional English styles such as Chippendale, Sheraton or Jacobean, including only limited Indian elements. Other furniture more openly embraced Indian craftsmanship and design aesthetics, creating new hybrid styles. As yet a third category, portable or ‘Campaign’ furniture also emerged; initially patronized by British army officers on the move, folding chairs and other items would become popular among campers, adventurers, or those out on a safari.

This period also saw the influence of Aestheticism, the late 19th-century European arts movement centred on the principle that art exists exclusively because of its beauty. In colonial furniture, Aestheticism inspired the use of decadent carving and rich embroidered fabrics. One of the leading champions of Aestheticism in India was American painter and furniture designer Lockwood de Forest.

REGIONAL: Bombay and Ahmedabad emerged as important centres for manufacturing in the nineteenth century. The former was known for Bombay Blackwood furniture, owing name to the dark hues of Malabar teak, shisham wood and rosewood, patronised by wealthy Parsi families. Next to the Ahmedabad carvers, and in some respects with an even higher local name, were the carpenters of the neighbouring town of Dholera, which was the chief timber market in the district. Blackwood was also used to make furniture at workshops in Madras and Monghyr [in present-day Bihar].

MODERN: The Art Deco style from 1920s to the 1940s was initially patronised by the Maharajas, British firms and decorators and old elite families. It gained exuberance in the hands of architects who designed grand new cinema halls in Bombay, spreading from there to princely families, especially in Gujarat, where the palaces of Wankaner and Morbi were quick to embrace the style. Stores such as Benjamin , Kamdar Furniture, and the Army and Navy Stores in Bombay were popular for Art Deco-style pieces – simple beds with bold, geometric forms, big oval dressing tables, rounded sofas and chairs, heavy drawers and chests and elaborate wardrobes. With printed catalogs and striking advertisements carrying images of the new style, customers from across the region were able to introduce the new style into their homes.

The immediate influence of the pioneering Bauhaus school of modern design (1919-1933) on furniture in India is perhaps manifest in mass-produced tubular steel chairs, tables and living room sets which Godrej Boyce & Co and others began manufacturing inthe 1930s. Post-independence India saw a more evident manifestation of modernism in terms of architectural and furniture design. Influences were sought from the designs of Marcel Breuer’s cantilevered tubular chair, or Le Corbusier’s chaise longue and pipe-bent chairs, thereby accelerating the popularity of mass production.On the invitation of Jawaharlal Nehru, Le Corbusier came to work on building the new city of Chandigarh. His cousin, Swiss designer, Pierre Jeanneret designed a host of pieces of furniture for the city’s administrative and municipal buildings during this period. Similarly, designers like George Nakashima embraced technology and simplicity of form eventually facilitating mass production in Pondicherry and Ahmedabad. In the1970s –80s Indian architects began designing furniture. For instance, BV Doshi designed furniture for architect Achyut Kanvinde’s buildings, and Nilendu Shah did so for hotels designed by Hasmukh Patel in Ahmedabad.

CONTEMPORARY: Over the last two decades or so, an enterprising groupof young designers has emerged, creating a significant style merging the traditional with the contemporary in terms of material technologies and cultural aesthetics. As local, small-scale furniture production dries up, city-specific boutiques and online brands like Pepperfry and Urban Ladder have begun gaining traction. Brands like Godrej Interio, who employ standardized production to create innovative furniture continue to influence urban living.