The chair has been used since antiquity, although for many centuries it was a symbolic article of

state and dignity rather than an article for ordinary use. "The chair" is still used as the emblem of
authority in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom[7] and Canada,[8] and in many other
settings. In keeping with this historical connotation of the "chair" as the symbol of authority,
committees, boards of directors, and academic departments all have a 'chairman' or 'chair'.
[9]
 Endowed professorships are referred to as chairs.[10] It was not until the 16th century that chairs
became common.[11] Until then, people sat on chests, benches, and stools, which were the ordinary
seats of everyday life. The number of chairs which have survived from an earlier date is exceedingly
limited; most examples are of ecclesiastical, seigneurial or feudal origin.[citation needed]
Chairs were in existence since at least the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt (c. 3100 BC). They were
covered with cloth or leather, were made of carved wood, and were much lower than today's chairs –
chair seats were sometimes only 10 inches (25 cm) high.[12] In ancient Egypt chairs appear to have
been of great richness and splendor. Fashioned of ebony and ivory, or of carved and gilded wood,
they were covered with costly materials, magnificent patterns and supported upon representations of
the legs of beasts or the figures of captives. Generally speaking, the higher ranked an individual
was, the taller and more sumptuous was the chair he sat on and the greater the honor. On state
occasions the pharaoh sat on a throne, often with a little footstool in front of it.[13]