History Main / ThroneMadeOfX

* Discussed in ''Videogame/GrimFandango'', where apparently the demon beavers will do this to intruders (the primary population of the Land of the Dead of course being [[DemBones skeleton people]]:

* "WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse": King mentions in "Echoes of the Past" that he used to have a throne made of the teeth of his enemies (which he also notes was incredibly uncomfortable to sit in) back when he was the King of Demons. [[spoiler:Given the reveal later in the episode, said throne almost certainly never existed.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 Skulls for the skull throne!]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 Skulls for the skull throne.]]]]

[[quoteright:350:[[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/iron_throne_ms.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:It's made of swords, and as comfortable (and safe) to sit on as it looks. Which is [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility the entire point]] of the thing.]]

** [[https://www.deviantart.com/marcsimonetti/art/Iron-throne-587381091 The trope image]] is the Iron Throne. It's an unassuming name for a towering monstrosity made out of hundreds of unsheathed swords, the former property of defeated lords and knights, forged into a chair with the aid of dragonfire. It's uncomfortable, and because the swords were not necessarily blunted first, it's dangerous to sit on -- [[SwordOfDamocles which is entirely the point]]. Its creator, [[FounderOfTheKingdom Aegon the Conqueror]], believed a king should [[TheChainsOfCommanding never sit easy on his throne]] and designed it as a [[RuleOfSymbolism constant reminder of that]]. The lesson was missed, however; both the last Targaryens and the usurper Robert Baratheon (especially the latter guy) managed to cosy themselves on ''that thing'' and forget all troubles. Which led to a pair of bloody civil wars and several regime changes in Westeros.

[[caption-width-right:350:It's made of swords, and as comfortable (and safe) to sit on as it looks. [[RuleOfSymbolism Which is]] [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility the entire point of the thing]].]]

If you want to make an extra special point about what kind of ruler you are or what your kingdom is like, one way to do it is to make your throne out of some kind of notable material that shows everyone what you're made of by showing them what you sit on.

* [[https://www.deviantart.com/marcsimonetti/art/Iron-throne-587381091 The trope image]] is the Iron Throne in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. It's an unassuming name for a towering monstrosity made out of hundreds of unsheathed swords, the former property of defeated lords and knights, forged into a chair with the aid of dragonfire. It's uncomfortable, and because the swords were not necessarily blunted first, it's dangerous to sit on --[[SwordOfDamocles which is entirely the point]]. Its creator, [[FounderOfTheKingdom Aegon the Conqueror]], believed a king should [[TheChainsOfCommanding never sit easy on his throne]] and designed it as a [[RuleOfSymbolism constant reminder of that]]. The lesson was missed, however; both the last Targaryens and the usurper Robert Baratheon (especially the latter guy) managed to cosy themselves on ''that thing'' and forget all troubles. Which led to a pair of bloody civil wars and several regime changes in Westeros.

* The [[EvilOverlord Mighty One Eye]] from ''WesternAnimation/TheThiefAndTheCobbler'' has a throne made of scantily dressed slave girls.

* ''Literature/TheToughGuideToFantasyland'' mentions this trope, among many others. Beautiful young queens have silver thrones wrought with flora patterns; EvilOverlords have thrones of black iron.

* The ''Literature/{{Deathstalker}}'' series' [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Empress Lionstone]] uses a throne with several [[PsychicPowers esper]] brains [[PoweredByAForsakenChild built]] [[AndIMustScream in]]. They provide a useful PsychicBlockDefense, but it's an apt metaphor for the [[FantasticRacism callous]], [[SuperHumanTrafficking institutionalized]], and sometimes [[MuggingTheMonster terribly]] [[MistreatmentInducedBetrayal foolish]] exploitation and abuse of espers in the galaxy.

* The ''Literature/ToughGuideToFantasyland'' mentions this trope, among many others. Beautiful young queens have silver thrones wrought with flora patterns; EvilOverlords have thrones of black iron.

[[caption-width-right:350:It's made of swords, and as comfortable (and safe) to sit on as it looks. [[RuleOfSymbolism Which is]] [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility Which is the entire point of the thing]].]]

[[caption-width-right:350:It's made of swords, and as comfortable (and safe) to sit on as it looks. [[RuleOfSymbolism Which is]] [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility the entire]] [[AccidentalPun point]] [[RuleOfSymbolism of the thing]].]]

* Unsurprisingly given its pedigree (and name), ''Series/GameOfThrones'' has the Iron Throne from the novels on which it's based. However, it's comprised of dozens rather than the hundreds of swords the original text described, and the blades are sheathed. It would have have been [[PragmaticAdaptation ridiculously impractical and expensive]] to build a prop to that scale and detail, not to mention dangerous to film with, but the resulting Iron Throne is decidedly less [[CreepyAwesome terrifyingly awesome]] and just a really CoolChair.

* The King of the One-Eyes in ''The Thief and the Cobbler'' has a huge entourage of slave women (in the original/Recobbled cuts, anyway) that the King uses as living furniture. During his introduction, the King quite literally has them assemble into a throne for him to sit upon, breaking the formation of the [[SlouchOfVillainy couch]] they'd been in before.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Throne_of_Weapons The Throne of Weapons]] at The British Museum, though this is a work of art rather than an actual throne.

* The ''Series/SesameStreet'' parody skit of ''Series/GameOfThrones'', ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhWUFXvaZjo Game of Chairs]]'' has a game of musical chairs played with three thrones: one made of golf clubs, one made of table tennis bats, and one made of baseball bats. Yes, they can [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar get away with that]] because it's ''Sesame Street'' (besides, [[ParentalBonus parents watch the show, too!]]).

*** ''Kara Tur'' boxed set. The Emperor of the Shou Lung Empire sits on a throne made of twenty tons of jade. It is engraved with tiny scenes from the reign of each emperor. The scenes appear magically on the throne without outside intervention. It is said that when the throne is completely covered with the engravings, the Empire will end.

* In the ''Literature/WarriorCats'' series, when Tigerstar declares himself leader of both [=RiverClan=] and [=ShadowClan=], he has his cats build him the "Bonehill" - a pile of prey bones to sit on so that when he's up there he can look down on everyone else.

[[caption-width-right:350:It's made of swords, and as comfortable (and safe) to sit on as it looks. [[RuleOfSymbolism Which is]] [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility the entire]] [[AccidentalPun point]] [[SwordOfDamocles of the thing]].]]

[[caption-width-right:350:It's made of swords, and as comfortable (and safe) to sit on as it looks. [[RuleOfSymbolism Which is]] [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility the entire point of the thing]].]]

** In ''Literature/DuneMessiah'', Emperor Paul Atriedes uses a throne made out of Hagar emerald. "Hagar" was probably Herbert misremembering "Hagal", and "emerald" could have been derived from "blue green quartz". In other words, this may have been the same throne Shaddam IV used.