Hip-joint armchair (sillón de cadera or jamuga)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The form of this chair is derived from the ancient Greco-Roman faldistorium, an armless folding chair used by high-ranking officials when not occupying their thrones of office. Although the present chair also appears to be collapsible for easy transport, its X frame is not constructed to permit this. Clearly, the form has been retained to evoke its traditional ceremonial aspect. The use of such chairs persisted around the Mediterranean throughout the Middle Ages. In Spain, converted Muslims continued to produce them after the Catholic reconquest, employing the skillful style of inlay practiced under earlier Islamic rule. The conquistadors carried similar chairs to the Americas, where they functioned as emblems of authority. The plain velvet on this example is a replacement of the original, most likely very elaborate, upholstry.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.

Metropolitan Museum of Art