STRUCTURAL FEATURES: Known as the ‘X-frame’ chair or the Scissors Chair, this folding chair is supported by two crossed and curved supports, forming an X-shape visible from the back and the front. The structure developed during the late-15th to early-16th century Italy, and this style of the chair is associated with Girolamo Savonarola, a preacher from the Renaissance period. It is possible that he did, in fact, possess such a chair as monks often used folding chairs. The intricately carved toprail is connected to the back of the straight arms, and the rather narrow seat is fixed with fitted wooden slats on both sides. A rendition of the X-Chair found its way to Chennai’s Connemara Public Library in the late 1890s.

STYLISTIC FEATURES: It features elaborate carvings along with inlay design and is a fine example of meticulous craftsmanship, possibly of the Indo-Islamic style. The wooden back rail is carved using motifs resembling peacocks, and the handrails end with carved and inlaid jaguar heads.

Courtesy: The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai