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Finding the Right Rocking-chairs for You
The phrase “rocking chair” didn’t find its way into the dictionary until the mid-18th century. While most of the sitting furniture that we use in our homes originated in either England or France, the iconic rocking chair is a quintessentially American piece of furniture.
A Philadelphia cabinetmaker’s bill for a proto-rocking chair issued in 1742, which identified the seat as a “Nurse Chair with rockers,” is the earliest surviving evidence of this design’s humble beginnings. The nurse chair was a low side chair intended for nursing women, so giving it a soothing rocking motion made sense. Rocking chairs, which saw a curved slat affixed to the chairs’ feet so that they could be literally rocked, quickly gained popularity across the United States, garnering a reputation as a seat that everyone could love. They offered casual comfort without the expensive fabrics and upholstery that put armchairs out of many families’ budgets.
Rocking chairs are unique in that they don’t just offer a place to rest — they offer an opportunity to reminisce. The presence of one of these classic pieces stirs up our penchant for nostalgia and has the power to transform a space. They easily introduce a simple country feel to the city or bring the peaceful rhythm of a porch swing into a sheltered sunroom. Although craftsmen took to painting and stenciling varieties of the chairs that emerged in New England during the 19th century, the most traditional rocking chairs are generally unadorned seats constructed with time-tested materials like wood and metal. As such, a minimalist vintage rocking chair can be ushered into any corner of your home without significantly disrupting your existing decor scheme or the room’s color palette.
In the decades since the first rocker, top designers have made the piece their own. Viennese chair maker Michael Thonet produced a series of rockers in the middle of the 19th century in which the different curved steam-bent wood parts were integrated into fluid, sinuous wholes. Mid-century modernists Charles and Ray Eames added wooden rockers to their famous plastic shell armchair, while Danish designer Frank Reenskaug opted for teak and polished beech, introducing pops of color with small cushions (a precursor to the bold works that would follow in the 1970s and 1980s).
No matter your personal style, let 1stDibs pair you with your perfect seat. Deck out your porch, patio or parlor — browse the vintage, new and antique rocking chairs in our vast collection today.
- 1stDibs ExpertJanuary 10, 2025Two types of art that are famous in Costa Rica are painting and sculpture. Many Costa Rican painters gained acclaim during the 20th century, including Francisco Amighetti, Lola Fernández, Roberto Brenes Mesén and Teodorico Quirós Alvarado. One of the best-known sculptures in Costa Rica is the Monumento Nacional located in the Bandera de Costa Rica Parque Nacional in San José. The bronze memorial was produced by Louis-Robert Carrier-Belleuse in 1891. Find a large collection of fine art on 1stDibs.
- 1stDibs ExpertJanuary 27, 2025One famous painter from Costa Rica is Francisco Zúñiga. Known as one of the most important Expressionist artists to emerge from Latin America, he is remembered for his monumental sculptures, figurative paintings and prints, nude drawings and portraits of rural Indigenous women. Other notable painters from Costa Rica include Francisco “Paco” Amighetti Ruiz, Adrián Arguedas Ruano and Miguel Hernández Bastos. On 1stDibs, find a variety of art for sale.
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