Formicartform as art: a guide to the history of furniture

An independent cultural reference on the history of furniture and interior styles. We neither sell nor make furniture, and we are not connected with the former site on this domain or its catalogue.

Archive

Archive

The archive serves as the guide's table of contents. It lists every section with a short description and explains what now opens at the old addresses left on this domain by the former site.

Old furniture has a provenance, a history of ownership. So do the old addresses of a website: we are open about where they came from.

— Margin note

Guide sections

  • Home: about the guide, four ways into the subject and how to look at an old chair in five minutes.
  • Articles: six core topics and the catalogue of standalone articles for the English version.
  • History: a timeline of three dates and an account of changing styles from baroque to minimalism.
  • Makers: the roles of those who create and preserve furniture, and three names from the timeline.
  • Collections: routes by style, by craft and for beginners.
  • Events: formats of events about furniture and interiors, and tips on preparing for a tour.
  • Close looks: a step-by-step examination of a piece and a table of its elements.
  • Minimalism: a note at an archived address on the origins of the style and its features.
  • Classic sofa: a note at an archived address on the history of the form.
  • Service address: an explanation of a technical link from the former site.

How the archived addresses work

This domain previously hosted an online furniture store with category pages and product pages. Those pages have not survived, and we do not restore their content: there are no products, models or terms of sale here. Two former product page addresses now lead to notes related to the site's subject, on minimalism in interiors and on the history of the sofa.

The third address is a service address: the former site used it to redirect visitors, and spammers exploited such links. The redirect has been switched off, and this address now shows a short explanation. Unrelated spam pages that had nothing to do with furniture have been removed and will not be restored.

  • Home

    A guide to furniture as the art of form: changing interior styles, the crafts of the makers, the people behind the objects and ways to look at a piece closely.

  • Articles

    The guide's core topics and a catalogue of standalone articles written for the English version.

  • History

    A timeline: Chippendale's pattern book of 1754, the Thonet workshop's chair No. 14 of 1859, the Bauhaus of 1919 and the changing styles in between.

  • Minimalism (in Russian)

    A note at an old catalogue address: where minimalism in interiors came from and how to recognize it.

  • Classic sofa (in Russian)

    A note at an old catalogue address: how the bench and the daybed became the sofa, and how classic forms differ.

  • Service address (in Russian)

    About a service address of the former site: the redirect is switched off, and suspicious links should not be trusted.

Sources

  • Reference works on the history of furniture and the decorative arts
  • Museum catalogues and guides to furniture collections

Historical information is drawn from reference literature on the history of furniture and the decorative arts. Opening hours and visiting rules at museums, historic houses and workshops change, so please confirm them with each venue.