UPHOLSTERY
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A chair with its original 18th-century upholstery.
Furniture was upholstered on the back as well as front because it was intended not only to be placed against walls, but also to be moved into the center of rooms. Mobile furniture allowed casual domestic activities or conversations. A new sort of seating was invented at the turn of the 17th to 18th century. While before, most seating was hard, and its use regulated to enforce strict social hierarchies, new seating was padded, upholstered, designed for comfort, and used for social interaction. Seating types became increasingly specialized to match increasingly personal needs.