History+of+the+table

History of Table

History of Table.

 A table is an item of furnture comprising an open, flat surface supported by a base or legs. It may be used to hold articles such as food or papers at a convenient or comfortable height when sitting, and is therefore often used in conjunction with chairs. A table specifically intended for writing and office work is a desk, which may incorporate drawers in the base. Table can be made of wood, cardboard, plastic, metal, glass or basically any solid material.

 Very early tables were made and used by the Egyptians, and were little more than metal or stone platforms used to keep objects off the floor. They were not used for seating people. Food was usually put on large plates deposed on a pedestal for eating. The Egyptians made use of various small tables and elevated playing boards. The chinese also created very early tables in order to pursue the arts of writing and painting.

 The Greeks and Romans made more frequent use of tables, notably for eating, although Greek tables were pushed under a bed after use. Tables were made of marble or wood and metal. Later, the larger rectangular tables were made of separte platforms and pillars. The Romans also introduced a large, semicircular table to Italy, the mensa lunata.

 Furniture during the Middle Ages is not as well-known as that of earlier or later periods, and most sources show the types used by the nobility. In the Eastern Roman Empire, tables were made of metal or wood, usually with four feet and freuently linked by x-shaped stretchers. Tables for eating were large and often round or semicircular. A combination of a small round table and a lectern seemed very popular as a writing table. In Western Europe, the invasions and internecine wars caused most of the knowledge in herited from the classical era to be lost. Most tables were simple trestle tables. Although samll round tables made from joinery reappeared during the 15th century and onward.