Museo Nacional del Virreinato opens exhibition on colonial seating history

The Museo Nacional del Virreinato in Tepotzotlán, Mexico, opened a temporary exhibition titled ¿Cómo y dónde te sientas?: La silla en la Nueva España.

The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) organized the display to show how chairs and other seating furniture functioned as social markers during the colonial era of New Spain. The exhibition explores how furniture design, materials, and placement communicated social status, authority, and prestige rather than just serving a practical purpose.

Researcher Itzamara Lizbeth Vargas Machiavelo explained that domestic spaces changed as furniture evolved, allowing people to build social identities through the display of wealth and the ownership of specific items. The display is organized into four sections. One area focuses on how thrones and armchairs signaled civil and religious authority. Another looks at religious furniture and its role in sacred ceremonies.

A third section compares pre-colonial seating, where many people sat on floor mats, with the introduction of European-style chairs like the fraileras and tijeras. The final section examines how 18th-century tastes shifted toward English-inspired styles, leading to the creation of specialized rooms like dining halls and cabinets. The museum will keep the exhibition open until February 2027.