A piano stool is a seat designed for use at a piano, made so that the player can sit at the correct height for the keyboard. Many examples are adjustable, either by a revolving screw beneath a circular seat or by a ratchet mechanism, while others have a fixed height with a hinged lid enclosing storage for sheet music.
Piano stools became common in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as the piano spread into middle-class drawing rooms. Regency and early Victorian revolving stools, often in rosewood or mahogany on turned columns and tripod or quadruple bases, are especially elegant. Later Victorian and Edwardian examples include rectangular box stools with upholstered tops, while wider duet stools seat two players side by side. Adjustable mechanisms should turn or lift smoothly, and on revolving stools the screw thread should be checked for wear. Original upholstery is rare, but sympathetic re-covering in leather, velvet or tapestry is accepted. Piano stools are useful pieces beyond the music room, serving as dressing-table seats, desk stools or occasional seating, and their compact size makes them easy to place in smaller rooms.
