Neo-Kingly Things: Contemporary Furniture in the Restricted Field

Abstract Within the broad, market-driven category of contemporary design there exists a smaller culture of production, namely, elite, limited-edition furniture that seeks to straddle the line between design and art. Focusing on these neo-kingly things – so named as they represent today’s throne chairs and other high-status furniture objects – this article explores how these rarified objects function as tastemakers, informing and influencing how contemporary style can be understood, how stylistic themes are established and how meaning is conveyed through design’s interconnected dimensions of form, materiality and style.