INDEX antiques Sofa, so good
One of the most important purchases for today’s home, the sofa has a long and surprisingly fascinating history. Are you sitting comfortably? Then Jennie Buist Brown will begin…
people? In my living room we have a sofa, although I grew up in Scotland in a house containing a settee, which was sometimes known as a couch but never once was called a sofa. Whatever name you choose to give it, that comfortable piece of furniture, chosen with great deliberation to fit in with your home’s decoration and style, has a long and fascinating history. Today the terms ‘sofa’, ‘settee’ and ‘couch’ are largely synonymous, all relatively recent additions to our language, not having been common before the 17th century. However
W
hat do you call upholstered seating for two or more
sofas have been in use for thousands of years – the oldest known example was
discovered in Egypt and dates back to 2,000 BC. Sofas were used by the upper and upper-middle classes as a place to rest and recline. Indeed, the very idea that the sofa could be a communal seating area seems somewhat universally ignored during the early period of its history – during these times the sofa seemed less a communal seating area, and more a personal space in whicch an individual could relax, eat and unwind. The word sofa originates from the Middle East, where suffah is the Arabic for bench. Originally sofas were found only in the homes of the very rich and viewed as a symbol of wealth, comfort and permanence. Similarly the word couch comes from the
French coucher, which literally translates as, ‘to put to bed’ but which was quickly adapted to mean simply lying down or reclining.
By the late 16th century, artisans in both England and Germany had learned the skills required to make their own versions of the sofa, and they constructed sturdy wooden frames padded out with many different soft substances, including feathers, items from the sea and even moss that had been allowed to dry out. These sofas would be covered and finished before being sold and they quickly became popular with the upper and emerging middle classes. The industrial revolution allowed mass production of these items in quantities never before available, and soon the sofa became commonplace in homes across the land as a place where families and friends could sit and relax together. Sofa springs were designed to replace horse- hair and feathers, and back rests became a more prominent part of the sofa design.
Over the centuries, hundreds of different variations on the
sofa have been developed, depending on passing fads and trends, many of which have remained popular to this day. The high-sided Knole sofa, the low-backed, deep-buttoned Chesterfield and the classic single armrest chaise longue all date back centuries but do not look out of place in today’s living spaces. Although many reproductions are available, originals can still be found in auctions and flea markets and, for inspiration, visit the V&A Museum in London, where you can see some fantastic examples of antique sofas? When buying an old sofa make sure to invest in a well-sprung piece with a hardwood frame, which can then be re-upholstered in your choice of fabric. This is not a cheap option but, done properly, the sofa will still be in use for many generations to come.
www.indexmagazine.co.uk
47
The INDEX magazine February 2012
All photographs © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
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