Take a seat! Auction house chairs online sale of beautiful seats

A Luo stool from Kenya. Photos: Sotheby's

Seats have been present in virtually every civilisation and every era, since the birth of the decorative arts and design.

Embracing purely functional, decorative and highly symbolic forms, the history of chairs, armchairs and stools offers 1001 answers to the question of how we should sit and what the act of sitting might mean.

In a recent online auction, Sotheby's auction house looks back on four centuries of creativity, ingenuity, poetry and freedom with 40 lots.

A pair of 1990s "S" chairs by legendary British designer Tom Dixon.

Among the most remarkable are a Luo stool from Kenya, estimated at 4,000-6,000 euros (RM18,950-RM28,430), and a Senufo chair from Ivory Coast estimated at 10,000 to 15,000 euros (RM47,380-RM71,070).

From Europe, there is a set of six Italian giltwood and polychrome painted armchairs made in Genoa around 1750 (estimate: 40,000-60,000 euros (RM189,520-RM284,280)), and a sculpted giltwood French Restoration fauteuil d'apparat or marquise estimated at 10,000-15,000 euros (RM47,380-RM71,070).

In a more contemporary vein, there are a pair of 1990s "S" chairs by the legendary British designer Tom Dixon and two armchairs by Le Corbusier's partner Pierre Jeanneret estimated at 10,000-15,000 euros.

Last but not least, fans of the 20th-century artist will appreciate a 2016 pair of bamboo chairs signed by the late Claude Lalanne estimated at 60,000-80.000 euros (RM284,280-RM379,040). – AFP Relaxnews