Greece was where western ideas and culture (like democracy) began. Each government wanted to be independent which led to competition among communities. Greece had hot summers and bitter winters. It is also home to the historically famous and important Parthenon. Average Greek buildings were built with mud bricks and were plastered and painted later. The house was oriented around a courtyard in the middle. One of the rooms usually contained a compluvium, which is an opening in the roof to let rain water in, and a cistern or impluvion, which is a sort of trough below the compluvium that collects the rain water. Motifs used in their decoration included: floral, marine life, egg and dart, and the Greek fret or key motif.
Egg and dart motif.
Greek fret or key motif.
The house was divided into different sections and a lot the time this was denoted by use of color. Colors they commonly used include: black, yellow, red, and white. They also used Trompe l’oeil techniques.
Greek Furniture was made of many things including leather and cords, copper, bronze, iron, marble, and also wood. Wood types included oak, maple, cedar, boxwood, olive, and beech. Higher class people would have furniture inlaid with gold, ivory, and various gems. While known for some of their more lavish furniture they also made a lot of useful furniture. They created a lot of storage pieces and items with more than one purpose or use. Their chair styles consisted of thrones, stools, and the klismos chair. The klismost chair was crafted out of wood and had splayed legs. It was created for women and is very graceful looking.
Klismos Chair
Classic Orders of Architecture Video
This video taught me about the that their are 5 classical orders including: Ionic, Doric, Corinthian, Tuscan, and Composite. It mostly focuses on the first three that look like this:
The Doric order is the oldest and it believed to haven began in the 7th centuryon the Greek mainland. This order is known
for its entablature, near the top of the building, which includes the frieze. This part is decorated by
triglyphs and metopes. The triglyphs are the part of the pattern that is three
lines in a row and in between each on is a space which are called metopes.
Doric columns have a capital on top which is flared with a
slab on top. Also the shaft of the columns are fluted and the columns have no
base. You can see all of this in the earlier photo I posted of a Doric column. These columns also use entasis which means they are wide at the bottom and get smaller up near the top.
The Ionic order seems more delicate and feminine that the
Doric. The distinguishing feature is the volutes which are the spiral designs
you can see at the top of the columns. Another important difference is that the
Ionic columns have a base.They are also slightly taller than Doric columns.
The Corinthian order is the most decorative of the three orders. These are the tallest columns of all three and have bases as well. The distinguishing
feature for this one is the leaf design found on the capital, or top, of the
column. There is a myth on the origin of the leaf design that says
that there was a girl who died and a basket of her possessions were put on her
grave. An acanthus plant grew up from underneath it and since the basket was in
the way it grew around it. Whether this is true or not, you can definitely see
this story being the inspiration for the design.
Acanthus Plant
Corinthian Post
My Favorites
My favorites from this section include the Klismos chair that I had a picture of up above and the Parthenon. I just love how graceful the design of the chair is and the Parthenon is such a magnificent building. I just can't believe something like that was built by hand. I also had a chance two summers ago to visit the full scale replica in Nashville, Tennesse, so even though I haven't seen the actual Parthenon I've come pretty close.
This week I looked at Jessica and Kristina's blog posts on Ancient Egypt.
I resonated with Jessica's because she mentioned not realizing that looking at furniture from civilizations from that long ago would be so useful. I didn't even realize all that the Ancient Egyptians contributed to the furniture world going into this class. I also liked how she mentioned that even though they used basic materials to create their home, they decorated them so lavishly that you would have thought otherwise. She posted a great picture of wall paintings that I thought really captured the colors they used well. It's also interesting to picture how they painted the ceiling of that archway.
Jessica's Picture
Kristina's blog stuck out to me because of the way she laid her post out. I loved her now and then examples. It was very cool and useful to see both applications side by side. It really allows you to see where the inspiration came from. I never even thought about the fact that the ancient Egyptians have inspired our building exteriors with their uses of columns and other features. I also did not realize that they had a fold-able bed back then. That is probably the most amazing to me. Also I really like her modern day pyramid picture.
Egypt was the first known major civilization. This is because it was located on the Nile River. The river was used for many things including agriculture, transportation, communication, and trade. This allowed them to get more materials then they could have gotten normally. For example, they had timber imported from Lebanon in types they would not have had otherwise. They imported ash, yew, ebony, elm, boxwood, and linden to go along with their local wood which consisted of acacia, palm, and sycamore. Other locally grown materials included lotus blossoms, reeds, and the open flowers and bud of the papyrus. They also used mud for wall bricks and stone.
Egyptians developed the method of joinery to attach their furniture together. Types of joinery included mortise and tenon, dovetail joints, and the use of dowels. They also used a post and beam system to create their buildings. Their houses varied on what level they were on the Hierarchy, but the better ones included a loggia which was a room open to the air on at least one side. The fact that food and shelter was so readily available and secured allowed Egyptians to focus their energy on other things such as art. Their art can be seen in frescoes on the walls and in the many artifacts they created. Many of these artifacts are still in existence today due to Egypt's climate and the fact that they were buried with the dead. It is also notable that their religion affected much of their art and furniture.
My Favorite Furniture
This piece of furniture was the most interesting to me. It is just so strange to me that the Ancient Egyptians thought using a headrest like this was a comfortable way to sleep. It just seems like your neck would hurt a lot in the morning.
This is a bed. I really like this because it is shaped like a couple of cats. The ancient beds are also incredibly interesting to me because only the rich had them and they were extremely uncomfortable. Probably even more so than the straw mats the poor slept on.
This is a footrest. I love the beautiful inlaid gold designs. It's interesting to me how much Ancient Egyptians used furniture to show status. If you were higher up in the hierarchy, you would almost certainly have gold on your furniture. In these days we would never imagine of using gold on something so silly a footrest.
Current Applications of Ancient Egyptian Design
This is a table created by Brueton that was inspired by Ancient Egyptian design.
This is a bathroom that was designed in a style reminiscent of Ancient Egypt.
