Folding stool (diphros okladias)
Taburete plegable (diphros okladias)
- Date
- c. 1500 BCE · confidence medium
- Place
- Thebes, Luxor, Egypt
- Credited to
- New Kingdom Egyptian carpenters
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A cross-legged seat with pivots and leather straps that folds for carrying. Lavish examples were found in Tutankhamun's tomb, but they were in common use in Egypt, Greece and Rome.
Folding stools are known from the Nordic Bronze Age (Guldhøj, Denmark, c. 1400 BC), so Egyptian priority is not certain; the date is approximate.
What it led to
- portable seating for travel, camp and office
- the curule chair of Roman magistrates
- medieval and modern folding chairs and stools