Soft Place of Spanish History. How to Appear Furniture

And if we talk seriously, relying on archaeological finds, then the first furniture appeared in Egypt, amaze with its intricate found tables of the bed, casket. They are mostly made of Ethiopian wood, ivory, and decorated with gold and mother of pearl.

Enjoyed all these pharaohs are great lovers to take with them to the last path all that is acquired by excessive work during life. In the tomb of one of them was found a chest with an attached back, and to it was attached a soft pillow. Here to you and great-grandfather of upholstered furniture!

And then the Romans and Greeks, the Patricians and senators, the people are serious, did not want to sit and sleep on the cold floors. Greeks in Spain, or rather, in Cartagena, calling it the New Carthage, brought all kinds of caskets and three-legged tables, whose legs were carved in the form of paws and hooves of animals, which undoubtedly adorned the local interiors.

And the Romans loved the sofas very much. Wearing pillows and perching once on marble sofas, they got down from them only in case of wars, earthquakes (it's strange that many now repair the apartment is compared to a disaster), and even extremely reluctantly. And ate them and read them , And the documents were signed, and the spectacles were contemplating.

It was the Great Empire that left the tradition of lying on the sofas that survived it. It was also reflected in the Spanish folk art proverb, similar to "What wedding without bayan, what a man without a sofa ?!"

Following the Romans, the tribes of the barbarians poured into Spain. It directly reflects the processes taking place in society-during wars people are not up to comfort. Furniture and household items completely lost their "Roman" lightness and beauty. The chairs were replaced by bulky benches, rough and uncomfortable. Only Very noble people covered their furs and rugs with their furs and carpets, and the citizens were less content with straw litter and topschanami. It is interesting that it was at this time that such a mysterious detail as a canopy and drapes appeared above the bed (by the way, on the floor ments the bed there was a heartbreaking trouble with Desdemona.)

Then, in the period of "flaming Gothic", they were supplemented with side boxes and fastened to the floor. Architecture, furniture art of that epoch were exclusively ecclesiastical. Religious conflicts forced the Visigoths, in the hope of retaining domination, to turn to the Moors.

The Arabs conquered most of the peninsula and, in the area of Cordoba, a caliphate was formed. They were cultured, refined people. They did not maraud, but instead built palaces and raised the standard of living (water and sewage, after which it was possible to repair the bathroom). Say that before the appearance of Muslims, the country in general was not really civilized ...

Ornate ornamentation was the decoration of furniture, incrustations of multicolored stone, gilding, mother of pearl, wooden mosaic, forged products. It is in the Arabs that the Spaniards learned how to make fur and leather, creating magnificent silk and woolen fabrics.

In gratitude, they decided to start the Reconquista (liberation war). King Isabella of Castile, being a determined and far-sighted girl, selling her jewelry, equipped Columbus to discover America, and the Spaniards for the eight hundred years of the war were already so "soothed" that they could not live peacefully and conquered a bunch The country began the Golden Age.

At the beginning of this period, furniture makers began to build different styles and shapes, so the gothic frame of the bed was decorated with Renaissance-style decorations. They began to appreciate the texture and color of the wood. The furniture was painted and waxed. For the seats of the seats, leather, belts from it was often used. Ruffled with reeds, decorated with brushes and cords, stuffed with wool of sheep, horse hair, sometimes with herbs.

And then, when the colonial gold flowed the river, the needs and taste for luxury increased in the hidalgo. The ebony items decorated with ivory, decorated with zolt, mother-of-pearl, silver furniture constituted the interior of noble persons. There were so many jewels in the country that the whole old woman-Europe The Spaniards could buy five times, but they were too lazy and disposed of money unreasonably. Spent, more simply, on foreign goods.

As a result, the people corrupted the looted wealth. There was a decline and the Spanish throne passed to the bourbons.

But read about this in our next article.