The woven rattan or wicker chairs
Rattan and wicker are almost interchangeable if we speak furniture materials, of course they are different: while the rattan is a material itself, elastic branches of several species of mostly East Indian palms , the wicker is obtained by interlacing thin branches (for example willow). The result is however quite similar, a naturally handcrafted material that is used mainly for furniture manufacturing, to obtain flat or curved woven surfaces to be part of seats or tables.
There are also other materials to be related to wicker and rattan, such as abaca, bandala, water hyacinth and other palm and banana leaves and stems, that are interlaced and worked to form elastic and resistant surfaces.
The chairs made in wicker or rattan are often suitable for outdoors, especially if made in water hyacinth leaves or similar. There are also numerous imitations that may be made with natural or with synthetic fibers, which are usually - but not always - a bit cheaper than the originals, however also considerably strong and resistant.
It may be that the inner structure, usually made in wood or steel, is left behind in favor of a basket-like self-supporting shape.
The ethnic tendency in the furnishing also suggests the use of ratan and wicker chairs in interiors as dining rooms or kitchens, in an updated replacement for the more traditional and evergreen chairs with straw seats.
Woven rattan wicker chairs
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