This is a series of slides that accompanied Nigel’s lectures about Social History of Furniture.
A social history of furniture is about the history of society itself and how the structures and stratifications within society: It naturally includes the history of the development of aesthetic styles and fashions but also the histories of the influence of wars, international commerce and power, political and religious shifts.
It is impossible to look properly at a piece of furniture with being able to appreciate it within its own historical and societal context.
Week 1 1660 – Defining some terms and starting from the transition from medieval to modern.