The Thebes Stool {Five Easy Pieces}

Are you ready for the next chapter in my "Five Easy Pieces" series? Yesterday was spent learning about and extolling the virtues of the bell jar lantern (which many of you also love!) while today I'll focus on a versatile little piece of furniture: the Thebes stool.

Like the lantern highlighted in yesterday's post, today's "easy piece" has its beginnings in another time and place. The Thebes stool, in its earliest iteration, can be found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs, but the piece's revival can most directly be attributed to Liberty of London.

In the late 19th century, Liberty of London began producing the Egyptian-style stool in flexible-yet-durable plywood as a part of the store's Furnishing & Decorating Studio (via V&M Museum). Liberty continued manufacturing the stool until approximately 1919 and, since that time, designers have reproduced the style all over the world.

Antique versions of the Thebes stool, especially those produced by Liberty of London, are considered collector's items and can be worth several thousands of dollars.

As a piece of practical design, the Thebes stool functions as both seat and ottoman in some of my favorite spaces. My dream interior designer, Kristen Panitch, often uses the Thebes stool in her gorgeous interiors.

(via Glenn Gissler Design)

(via Kristen Panitch Interiors)

(via Markham Roberts)

(via Jentrified)

(via Architectural Digest France)

If you stumble across one of these designs while out thrifting or estate sale shopping, snatch it up! Original Liberty of London Thebes stools are sold for around a thousand dollars while reproductions (depending on provenance and condition) can retail for nearly as much. And if you find two but don't have room for both, send one my way!

(one / two / three)

What are your thoughts on this stalwart of British-via-Ancient Egyptian style?  I don't know about you, but I'd do just about anything for a Thebes stool of my own.

Read all of the "Five Easy Pieces" installments here:

The Bell Jar Lantern {Five Easy Pieces}

The Thebes Stool {Five Easy Pieces}

The Rush Log Basket {Five Easy Pieces}

The Louis Philippe Mirror {Five Easy Pieces}

The Demilune Table {Five Easy Pieces}