UNKNOWN CABINETMAKER, Italian
(active 2nd half of 16th century in Florence)

"Savonarola" Chair

1550-1600
Carved walnut, 68 x 68 x 58 cm
Museo Bardini, Florence

The Savonarola chair (or X-chair) is a type of folding chair with a frame like an X viewed from the front or the side originated in medieval Italy. Also known as a Savonarola or Dante chair in Italy, or a Luther chair in Germany, the X-chair was a light and practical form that spread through Renaissance Europe.

The name Savonarola was invented in the 19th century, with the intention of underlining the Florentine nature of this piece of furniture. In fact several chairs of this sort were found in the cell of the monk, Savonarola.

The chair shown here has been connected to Ferdinando de' Medici (1549-1609) because of the presence on it of the Medici coat-of-arms surmounted by a cardinal's hat.