Taboret
Encyclopedia
A taboret refers to two different pieces of furniture, a cabinet or a stool.
The popular sense refers to a small portable stand or cabinet, with drawers and shelves for storage. It is used as a method to bring organization to a work area. This name for a portable cabinet is common to artists. In the context of a the Arts and Crafts Movement
, a taboret is a stand for a plant or a beverage.
As a stool, it refers to a short stool without a back or arms. The name is derived from its resemblance to a drum (diminutive of Old French tabour).
The tabouret acquired a more specialized meaning in 17th century France
at the court of Louis XIV
in Versailles. Sitting in the presence of the royal family was a much coveted honor, and the tabouret was the way to do it. The court tabouret was an elaborate, upholstered stool with curved wooden legs and tassels, carried by a liveried and wigged servant. The duchess was automatically granted the honor of sitting in front of the queen. In fact, this stool became such a symbol of privilege that when Louis XIV's mother, the Regent Anne of Austria
granted the tabouret to two non-duchesses, such a storm of protest was raised that she had to revoke them.
The popular sense refers to a small portable stand or cabinet, with drawers and shelves for storage. It is used as a method to bring organization to a work area. This name for a portable cabinet is common to artists. In the context of a the Arts and Crafts Movement
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
, a taboret is a stand for a plant or a beverage.
As a stool, it refers to a short stool without a back or arms. The name is derived from its resemblance to a drum (diminutive of Old French tabour).
A highly prized stool
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
at the court of Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
in Versailles. Sitting in the presence of the royal family was a much coveted honor, and the tabouret was the way to do it. The court tabouret was an elaborate, upholstered stool with curved wooden legs and tassels, carried by a liveried and wigged servant. The duchess was automatically granted the honor of sitting in front of the queen. In fact, this stool became such a symbol of privilege that when Louis XIV's mother, the Regent Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria was Queen consort of France and Navarre, regent for her son, Louis XIV of France, and a Spanish Infanta by birth...
granted the tabouret to two non-duchesses, such a storm of protest was raised that she had to revoke them.