Taboret

A taboret (also spelled tabouret or tabourette) refers to two different pieces of furniture: a cabinet or a stool.

As a stool, it refers to a short stool without a back or arms. The name is derived from its resemblance to a drum (diminutive of Old French tabour).³⁴

The tabouret acquired a more specialized meaning in 17th-century France at the court of Louis XIV in Versailles, where it allowed courtesans to sit in the presence of the royal family. The court tabouret was an elaborate, upholstered stool with curved wooden legs and tassels, carried by a liveried and wigged servant. Duchesses were automatically granted the honor of sitting in front of the queen. This stool became such a symbol of privilege that when Louis XIV's mother, the Regent Anne of Austria, granted the tabouret to two non-duchesses, such a storm of protest was raised that she had to revoke the order.⁵

In the context of the Arts and Crafts Movement, a taboret is a narrow and tall stand for a plant, lamp, ashtray, or a beverage.⁶ It may also be a mission oak book stand shelf, or side table, or end table.¹²⁷

The current sense refers to graphic artists' task furniture, a wheeled, portable stand or cabinet, with drawers and shelves for storage, used to bring supplies to a work area.⁸⁹