Cane furniture is having a moment. Although it’s not really new — people have crafted furniture out of the lightweight, natural material for eons — what is new is the wide variety of cane chairs, benches, beds, cabinets, armoires and consoles available from brands across the board, from Target to Design Within Reach to Baker Furniture.
The term cane is used to describe a natural, sustainable material that comes from the outer skin of rattan, a climbing, vine-like plant in the palm family that’s native to Asia, Africa and Indonesia. Cane can be harvested without harming the plant. Cane furniture is furniture in which a mesh of split cane is stretched over parts of the framework.
Cane was used in Asia and Africa throughout history. When Howard Carter unearthed King Tut’s tomb in 1922, it contained a cane bed buried there since 1323 B.C. In Peru, archaeologists discovered the tomb of a powerful Moche princess who was buried in a coffin of cane around A.D. 750.
Cane furniture first appeared in Holland, England and France around the 1660s, when the Dutch East India Company and its English counterpart began importing it from China and India. In France, cane work was popular for less formal furniture during the Regency period, and it was still used during the Louis XV and XVI eras. Cane furniture based on English styles was introduced to Germany, Spain and the American Colonies.
Photo courtesy Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Exotic Arrivals
First imported in the 1660s, cane was less formal, airy and lighter in weight than traditional materials. Dutch and English cabinetmakers began incorporating cane into the ornately carved chairs made at the time of the English Restoration, such as this English couch, circa 1695, from The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
Photo courtesy Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
From Chippendale to Sheraton
“In mid-18th-century England, there was a fashion for furnishings in the Chinese style [Chinoiserie], such as this English armchair [circa 1770, from The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation]. Cabinetmaker Thomas Chippendale included lattice-back chairs like this in his furniture design book,” says Tara Gleason Chicirda, curator of furniture for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. “The cane allows for a cooler, softer seat. The curve of the cane seat adds to the comfort, and it can be used with a cushion.”
British cabinetmaker Thomas Sheraton also incorporated cane into his elegant furniture designs, writing that it should be used for “any thing where lightness, elasticity, cleanness, and durability ought to be combined,” in his 1803 furniture design book, “The Cabinet Dictionary.”
Louis XVI
Georges Jacob, one of the most fashionable Parisian furniture makers of the late 18th century, created a caned fauteuil de toilette chair — similar to his c. 1787 chair at right — as part of a set of furniture he created for Marie Antoinette’s bedroom in the Petit Trianon, a small house on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles built as her retreat. The queen sat in her fauteuil de toilette while having her hair and makeup done.
Thonet’s No. 14
The chair that revolutionized the furniture industry, Michael Thonet’s No. 14 chair, also known as the bistro chair, was introduced in 1859. The simple design crafted of beechwood with a cane seat is one of the best-selling chairs ever made — more than 50 million No. 14s were sold between 1859 and 1930, and millions more since then. Fabricated with steam-bending technology (now known as bentwood) that took years for Thonet to perfect, the No. 14 chair became the first mass-produced item of furniture. (Fun fact: Designed as a cafe chair, the seat was made of cane to let spilled liquid drain off.)
Photo by Ilan Rubin courtesy Knoll Studio Inc.
Marcel Breuer’s Cesca Chair
Designed by Marcel Breuer in 1928 with a curved steel frame and a woven cane seat and back, the Cesca chair is today considered a staple of modern design. First manufactured by Michael Thonet, the chair was named the Cesca after the designer’s daughter, Francesca, when production moved to Italy in the 1950s. The Museum of Modern Art in New York has an early example of the Cesca chair in its collection.
“It's versatile, flexible, durable and lightweight.” —Michael Maszaros, Cabin Creek Interiors
Today
“With the growing emphasis on sustainable, consciously produced materials like cane and rattan, we’re seeing more furniture designers and manufacturers support a return to the craft-based production,” says Michael Maszaros, a designer who owns Cabin Creek Interiors and is an instructor for the University of Richmond’s interior decorating program. “Furniture makers today are incorporating cane into their designs for the same reason Thomas Sheraton did in the 18th century: It’s versatile, flexible, durable and lightweight — and it has a natural aesthetic that blends well with all styles.”
CONTEMPORARY EXAMPLES: Available through Cabin Creek Interiors
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Fleux Cabinet by Elk Home, $968 plus shipping (Photo courtesy Cabin Creek Interiors)
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Georgia Pendant by Hudson Valley Lighting, $1,782 plus shipping (Photo courtesy Cabin Creek Interiors)
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Clarion Counter Stool by Uttermost, $474 plus shipping (Photo courtesy Cabin Creek Interiors)
WHERE TO GET CANE FURNITURE REPAIRED: The Cane Connection, 6941 Lakeside Ave., 804-261-6555