Furniture has been a part of the human experience since the development of non-nomadic cultures. Evidence of furniture from antiquity survives in the form of paintings, such as the wall Murals discovered at Pompeii; sculpture, examples of which have been excavated in Egypt; and extant pieces, such as those found in tombs in Ghiordes, in modern day Turkey. The furniture of the Middle Ages was usually heavy, oak, and ornamented with carved designs. Along with the other arts, the Italian Renaissance of the fourteenth and fifteenth century marked a rebirth in design, often inspired by the Greco-Roman tradition. A similar explosion of design, and renaissance of culture in general, occurred in Northern Europe, starting in the fifteenth century. The seventeenth century, in both Southern and Northern Europe, was characterized by opulent, and often gilded Baroque designs that frequently incorporated a profusion of vegetal and scrolling ornament. Starting in the eighteenth century,
furniture designs began to develop more rapidly. Although there were some styles that belonged primarily to one nation, such as Palladianism in Great Britain, others, such as the Rococo and Neoclassicism were perpetuated throughout Western Europe. The nineteenth is usually defined by concurrent revival styles, including Gothic, Neoclassicism, and Rococo. The design reform of the late century, introduced the Aesthetic movement and the Arts and Crafts movement. Art Nouveau was influenced by both of these movements. The first three-quarters of the twentieth century are often seen as the march towards Modernism.
Art Deco, De Stijl, Bauhaus, Weiner Werkstatte, and Vienna Secession designers all worked to some degree within the Modernist idiom. Postmodern design, intersecting the Pop art movement, gained steam in the 1960s and 70s, promoted by designers such as the Italy-based Memphis movement.
