What is the Renaissance armchair that is box shaped with runners?

• A. Dantesca
• B. Sedia
• C. Savonarola
• D. Cassone

Answer: (B)

The idea here is recognizing a Renaissance chair by its basic form and a common Italian name. A box-shaped chair with runners describes a sturdy, square-seat seat supported by long rails along the bottom. In Italian furniture terms, the generic chair is called a sedia, used to denote the standard armchair form rather than a highly decorative or specialized design. So the best match for a Renaissance armchair described this way is sedia.

The other named chairs have distinctive features that don’t fit the boxy, runner-equipped description: a Dantesca chair is associated with a more monumental, carved back; a Savonarola chair has a slender, X-shaped back and often a lighter, open frame; a cassone is a chest, not a chair.