Antique Renaissance Revival Style Carved Walnut Curule Armchair. Similar to the Savonarola style popular in Italy, but with more courtly ornamentation on the back brace, arms, legs, and center support as often found in France and Germany. 

Condition: Signs of repair. Commensurate with age. 

Size: 23 1/2 x 25 x 33 1/2 in. 

A curule seat is a design of (usually) foldable and transportable chair which first appeared in Ancient Rome. It was brought with magistrates, praetors, and military leaders to allow them to hold imperium in the field, and eventually became associated with royalty and regal superiority thanks to opulent metallic versions such as the Throne of Dagobert that appeared in the Dark Ages. A more common version appeared in the early Middle Ages known as the Faldstool (German for “stool to fold”) that was at first used by bishops or other traveling religious leaders. In the early Renaissance carpenters began producing elegantly carved but more affordable pieces for use in the average home, as well as by the merchant class while travelling. The term curule descends from the Roman word currus (meaning “chariot”) and reflects the longstanding history of the seat and its desirability amongst Europeans of all classes and nations long after the fall of the Empire that invented it. Today similar but extremely simple folding chairs are used by campers and other organizations to quickly provide basic seating to groups in a location not otherwise designed for seated gatherings, but the more opulent curule chair is still seen as a part of interior design, often associated with Renaissance Revival movements, and most of these are no longer designed for mobility but instead strengthened and stabilized for regular in-home use. 

#6132 . 

Signs of repair. Commensurate with age.