Few facts about the wicker rocking chair

 Rocking chairs are usually associated with mothers and grand parents gently rocking sometimes telling the stories to their grand children or making them sleep or leisurely enjoying the sunrise or sunset. During the childhood children get thrilled and fascinated when they get a chance to crawl into a rocking chair. Most of the rocking chairs are made with wood, and they last for centuries. A Rocking chair in the family always has many stories to tell.

Wicker rocking chair was introduced in the 1860’s. Wicker is hard woven fiber. Traditionally wicker is made of material of plant origin like bamboo cane etc., but nowadays plastic fibers are also used instead of the plant fiber The materials used  to obtain the wicker can be any part of a plant, such as the cores or canes of rattan stalks, or the whole thickness, as with willow switches. To make the wicker rocker chair, the frame of the chair is made out of the harder materials, after which more flexible material is used to fill in the frame. Wicker is usually a light yet sturdy material, making it ideal for the rocking chairs that will be moved often.

Wicker furniture can be traced back to the ancient Egypt, and the wicker objects in the Iron Age had an influence on the development of the patterns used in Celtic art. In modern era, its aesthetic was influenced heavily by the Arts and Crafts movement at the turn of the 20th century. The most prominent North American manufacturer was Heywood-Wakefield of his era. Antique wicker furniture is highly sought after by the collectors.


The wicker rocking chairs were cheaper than wooden rocking chairs at the time of their introduction in the market, but these rocking chairs weren’t durable enough. The popularity of the wicker rocking chairs rose among the people due to the light weight of these chairs and greater movability these chairs offer.   These chairs did well in the market because the wicker rocker chair could be twisted into a variety of designs. One of the most prominent wicker rocking chairs from the ancient period features an American flag that was weaved into the design on the back of the chair.  The production of wicker rocking chair reached to its highest level in the US during the middle of the 18th century. These wicker rocker chairs were popularly known as the wicker rockers, they were famous for their craftsmanship and creative designs.

In the recent times also the wicker rocker chair did not loose its popularity as much although many contemporary products have already flooded the market. The reason may be the elegant yet simple styling and design of these rocker chairs. Change in the wicker material also made it durable enough and many designs of the wicker rocking chair incorporate the steel frame and plastic wicker for greater durability. But the elegant and aesthetic designs produced by the use of the traditional materials give a unique look and value to these chairs that is why they are still popular in this modern era. 

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 22nd, 2007 at 1:44 pm and is filed under Chairs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.