Sgabello

A sgabello is an Italian term for a specific type of backstool, moveable seat furniture typical of the Italian Renaissance, when a chair (sedia) usually signified an armchair, a seat of some hieratic importance. Sgabelli are generally made out of walnut and consist of a thin plank or panelled back and an octagonal seat, supported on shaped plank supports, strengthened by a stretcher, which may be turned. This seat would often be placed in hallways, and was often carved with a family's imprese or emblem drawn from its coat-of-arms. Its primary purpose was not lounging comfort.