Add to ORKGMedieval royal thrones have been consciously planned to function as substitutes for the absent kings. Three chair objects with royal connotations – the Cathedra Petri (before 875) in the Vatican, the so-called Coronation Chair (1297) in Westminster Abbey, and the throne of Martin i in the treasury of Barcelona Cathedral (ca. 1410) – are examined here in detail. Study of historical sources and diachronic comparison, undertaken for the first time for this article, reveals three different modes of representation. As a result, the analysis determines that the degree of abstraction of the royal representation, as well as its relationship to the throne's materiality, are crucial for the representation's reception, the imagination of the enthroned...