Cadiraires and cordat de cadires (bova and palma)

What it is and technique

Make or remake the woven seat of the traditional Mallorcan chair: a wooden frame (pine, sometimes olive) with the cordat (stringed) seat. In Mallorca two fibers were used:

• Bova (in the rest of the domain, boga): cattail leaf (Typha), twisted into a cord. The DCVB collects "three unequal cadires amb sa bova escabeiada" and the bova form in Mallorca.
• Cordellí de palma: cord of two garballó brins, made with the eye of the palm, and the cord of two caps, somewhat thicker, both "per cordar cadires" (BIC file of palm work).

The craft has two parts that were often done by the same person: the cadirer (frame) and the cordador de cadires (seat).

Short story

• 1652: "a bova estora" in a document from Sóller (DCVB): the cattail was already domestic material.
• 19th-20th centuries: palm rope was used in three areas: field, palm work and "cordat de cadires i tibulets" (stools) (BOIB 101/2026).
• Second half of the 20th century: cattail and palm chairs become factory or plastic; the job remains in the repair.
• 2025: the Consell de Mallorca gives the honorary award for artisan career to Pep Toni Ferrà Ferrà, "cordador de cadires i llatrer" (Paumes i Brins, Establiments).
• 2026: demonstration "Llatra i cordat de cadires a la fresco" in Algaida (July 23).
• Without specific localized historical study (to verify in Museu de Mallorca and Jornades d'Estudis Locals).

Process step by step

General reed seat technique; to verify the Mallorcan nuances with a cordador:

1. Collir: cut the green bova in humid areas, at the end of summer (check the season in Mallorca).

2. Assecar: dry in the shade so that it does not become brittle.

3. Remullar: moisten before working so that it can be twisted.

4. Twisting: twisting several sheets into a continuous cord of regular thickness, adding sheets as you go.

5. Cord: pass the cord over and under the four crossbars, from corner to corner, until the center is closed. Four triangles emerge that meet in the center.

6. Farcir: fill between the two layers with leaf remains to give body (general technique).

7. With palma: same scheme with already twisted cordelli or two-cap corda ( obra-de-palma-llata ).

Time: no verified data for Mallorca (to verify).

Forms and objects

• Cadira de bova: pine chair with reed seat.
• Cadira de corda / de palma: palm cordelli seat.
• Tibulet (stool) and banquet: low seats, also cordats.
• Cadira de braços: chair with arms.
• Bova estora: cattail mat.
• Two "traditional Mallorcan chair models" combined by Jordi Ribas Ros in Cadibra II (Homo Faber); The file does not name them (to verify names).

Vocabulary

• cadira: chair.
• cadirer: who makes chairs (DECat).
• cadireria: chair workshop or shop.
• cadiraire: popular form for someone who makes or repairs chairs (per verify usage in Mallorca).
• cordar: weave the seat of a chair with cord.
• cordador de cadires: craftsman who strings chairs.
• bova / boga: cattail (Typha latifolia, T. angustifolia); in Mallorca, bova.
• balca: synonym of bova (DCVB).
• cordellí: fine cord of two palm brins.
• corda de dos caps: slightly thicker palm cord for chairs.
• brin: strip of palm leaf.
• tibulet: stool.
• escabeiat: said of the worn or undone bova (to verify exact meaning).
• llatrer: artisan of the llatra (braided palm), in Artà.

Geography

• Establiments (Palma): Pep Toni Ferrà's workshop.
• Algaida: public cordat demonstrations (2026).
• Bova: wetland areas such as s'Albufera de Muro and Sa Pobla (to verify historical data). Palma: Levante and Ponent, where garballó grows.
• Manacor and Sineu as reed chair centers: not verified.

Xifres

• Premis d'Artesania 2025: 67 applications; one of the prizes went to a cadir roper.
• Without a census of active cordadors or verified prices (to verify in the Cercador d'artesans of the Government).
• Without own asset declaration; It is covered in part by the BIC palm work file (initiated 2026).

Why is it design

• Light, breathable and repairable seat: when it breaks, the seat is replaced, not the chair.
• Local and annual fiber (wetland bova, mountain palm), without chemicals. See proximity design .
• The four triangle pattern distributes the load towards the corners, where the structure is strongest.
• Separates structure (wood, long life) and surface (fiber, maintenance): a circular design principle.

Where and who today

• Pep Toni Ferrà Ferrà — Paumes i Brins, Establiments (Palma). Cordador of cadirs and llatrer. Artisan career award 2025.
• Jordi Ribas Ros — cabinetmaker, Colònia de Sant Pere. Cadibra II chair with palm fiber seat (Homo Faber).
• Cordat demonstration in Algaida (July 2026; organizer not indicated).

State

At risk. Repair trade, with very few visible practitioners. Recent recognition (2025 award) and public demonstrations.

Contemporary Updates

• Cadibra II (Jordi Ribas Ros): chair that mixes two Majorcan typologies, hand-woven palm seat and yellow pine recovered from an 18th century building.

For the project

• Possible piece: reissue a Mallorcan chair with a bova or palm seat, with a carpenter and Pep Toni Ferrà; or an open workshop of "cordar la teva cadira".
• Contact: Pep Toni Ferrà (Paumes i Brins, Establiments), Jordi Ribas Ros, organizers of Algaida.
• For the atlas: record the complete process (bova collection, twisting, cording) and set the local names of the saddle models.

Sources

• dcvb.iec.cat/results.asp?word=bova
• dcvb.iec.cat/results.asp?word=boga
• intranet.caib.es/eboibfront/pdf/ca/2026/101/1226130
• ultimahora.es/noticias/sociedad/2025/10/29/2501627/oficios-mantienen-viva-esenci
• mallorca.com/es/eventos/llatra-i-cordat-de-cadires-a-la-fresca-algaida-2026-9839
• homofaber.com/en/works/a1VTG000000f16C2AQ
• decat.iec.cat/documents/II/388.pdf

Working text from the Disseny Indígena knowledge base, machine-translated from Spanish.

Open it in the atlas →