Thonet Armchair with Nail Head Detailing
View Similar Items
Thonet Armchair with Nail Head Detailing
About the Item
- Creator:Thonet (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 35.5 in (90.17 cm)Width: 22 in (55.88 cm)Depth: 19 in (48.26 cm)Seat Height: 19 in (48.26 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1930s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:Seller: R316TF1stDibs: 14071088934137
Thonet
For more than 180 years, Thonet — or Gebrüder Thonet — has produced elegant and durable tables and cabinets as well as chairs, stools and other seating that wholly blur the lines between art and design. Widely known as a trailblazer in the use of bentwood in furniture, the European manufacturer has reimagined the places in which we gather.
Noted for his skill in parquetry, German-Austrian company founder Michael Thonet received an invitation from Austrian Chancellor Prince Metternich to contribute Neo-Rococo interiors to the Liechtenstein City Palace in Vienna. The Boppard-born Thonet had honed his carpentry skills in his father’s workshop, where he carried out experiments with plywood and modified the Biedermeier chairs that populated the studio.
Thonet’s work for the chancellor raised his profile, and the cabinetmaker gained international recognition, including at London’s Great Exhibition of 1851, which featured works created by members of the Arts and Crafts movement as well as industrial products of the day. Thonet showed a range of furniture at the fair and won the bronze medal for his bentwood chairs. He incorporated his family’s company, the Thonet Brothers, with his sons in 1853.
Bentwood furniture dates as far back as the Middle Ages, but it is the 19th-century cabinetmaker Thonet who is most often associated with this now-classic technique. Thonet in 1856 patented a method for bending solid wood through the use of steam, and from there, the bentwood look skyrocketed to furniture fame. The works of renowned mid-century modern designers such as Alvar Aalto, Arne Jacobsen, and Charles and Ray Eames that put this technological advancement to use would not be as extensive or celebrated were it not for the efforts of the pioneering Thonet.
Considered the world’s oldest mass-produced chair, Michael Thonet’s ubiquitous Chair No. 14 demonstrated that his patented bentwood technology made it possible to efficiently produce furniture on an industrial scale. Now known as the 214, it won the German Sustainability Award Design for 2021, a recognition of the company’s commitment to environmentally responsible production.
Often called the Coffee House chair — the company’s first substantial order was for a Viennese coffeehouse — the No. 14 remains an icon. Thonet originally designed the chair in 1859, and it is considered the starting point for modern furniture.
The bentwood process opened doors — there were investments in machinery and new industrial processes, and the business began mass-producing furniture. By the end of the 1850s, there were additional Thonet workshops in Eastern Europe and hundreds of employees. Michael Thonet’s reputation attracted the attention of notable architects including Otto Wagner, Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
The No. 14 was followed by the No. 18, or the Bistro chair, in 1867, and the 209, or the Architect’s chair, of which Le Corbusier was a fan. (The influential Swiss-French architect and designer used Thonet furniture in his Pavillon de l’Esprit Nouveau at the 1925 International Exposition of Decorative Arts in Paris.)
Thonet’s chair designs also appeared in artwork by Toulouse-Lautrec, John Sloan and Henri Matisse in his Interior with a Violin Case. The noteworthy Thonet rocking chair remains a marvel of construction — in the middle of the 19th century, Michael produced a series of rockers in which the different curved parts were integrated into fluid, sinuous wholes. Thanks to Thonet, the humble rocker acquired something unexpected: style. It was captured in the paintings of Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and James Tissot.
Thonet is currently split into global divisions. Thonet Industries U.S.A. was acquired in 1987 by Shelby Williams and joined the CF Group in 1999, while the Thonet brand in Germany is owned by Thonet GmbH.
Find a collection of antique Thonet furniture on 1stDibs.
- Michael Thonet Ton "Era" Yellow Chairs, 4Located in New York, NYSet of Four Michael Thonet Ton "Era" Chairs in Yellow, 21st Century. 33" H x 16.25" W x 20.5" D.Category
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsWood
$1,300 / set - Thonet Bentwood and Caned No. 207r Side ChairLocated in New York, NYThonet Bentwood and Caned SIde Chair, model "No. 207r" , circa 1900, with rounded crest rail, circle support and oval caned backrest above a caned seat on four splay legs united by a...Category
20th Century Side Chairs
MaterialsWood
- Modern Cantilevered Armchairs, 4Located in New York, NYSet of Four Modern Cantilevered Armchairs, 1970s. 33" H x 21" W x 22" D; seat: 17" H.Category
20th Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsMetal
$1,800 / set - Chinese Horseshoe Back ArmchairLocated in New York, NYChinese antique horseshoe back armchair in carved wood. Jian Ding export seal on back of seat.Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Qing Armchairs
MaterialsWood
$550 Sale Price75% Off - Philadelphia Chippendale Style ArmchairLocated in New York, NYPhiladelphia Chippendale style mahogany armchair with shaped crest rail above openwork leaf-carved backsplat with scrolling foliate-carved arm...Category
20th Century Chippendale Armchairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Mahogany
- Venetian Neoclassical Style ArmchairLocated in New York, NYThe ikons Post-Modern glass top desk features four polychromed metal legs in differing geometric designs, with an etched "ikons" signature on the...Category
20th Century Italian Armchairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Wood
- Thonet Style Italian ArmchairsBy ThonetLocated in Brooklyn, NYPair of petite chairs with exaggerated sculpted arms and vinyl cushioned seats. Brass nail head beading around the back and legs add to the detai...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFaux Leather
$2,450 Sale Price / set41% Off - Pair of Thonet Black Lacquered Bentwood Armchairs with Upholstered Seats, 1940sBy ThonetLocated in San Francisco, CAA very dapper pair of uncommon 1940s Thonet bentwood birch armchairs with freshly redone black lacquered finish and white upholstery. Handsomely crafted frame of flat bentwood ele...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Birch, Bentwood
- Spanish Colonial Oak Armchairs with Lion HeadsLocated in Asheville, NCThis pair of majestic armchairs features two carved lion head finials with ornately carved arms and foot-rails, plank seats and a tapestry upholstered back. These are two beautiful e...Category
20th Century English Armchairs
MaterialsOak, Tapestry
$8,000 / set - Mid Century Cinema Seat by Thonet, 1950sBy ThonetLocated in Lucenec, SKCinema seat originally from the cinema in Czechoslovakia produced by Thonet. Nowadays it can be a stunning addition to any interior. Very good, original co...Category
Mid-20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
- Umber Modern Low Armchair in Walnut Wood with Crafted Arm DetailBy TréologyLocated in Papanui, ChristchurchThe Umber chair is a comfortable modern walnut armchair with crafted arm design detail. Designed to sit comfortably in its own space, the Umber chair offers a low, laid-back sitting position for relaxed enjoyment. Perfect as a wooden easy chair...Category
2010s New Zealand Modern Armchairs
MaterialsWalnut
- Anglo-Indian Mughal Mother of Pearl Inlaid Klismos Armchair with Ram Head 1 of 2Located in North Hollywood, CAAnglo-Indian Mughal Mother of Pearl Inlaid Klismos Armchair with Ram Head. 1 of 2 available. Anglo-Indian Mughal black and white mother of pearl inlaid armchair with ram's head. Mother-of-pearl klismos style armchair with ram head detail. This stunning armchair feature a wooden frame inlaid with intricate and detailed floral design in white mother of pearl, camel bone and black color with scrolling ram's heads finish. A very good looking and well made Anglo Indian armchair. These are highly collectable, they must have taken hundreds of hours to craft, imagine hand cutting thousands of pieces of mother of pearl into just the right shape to make these Moorish Mughal mosaic inlay work. Chair seat was newly upholstered in a eggplant, lavender, purple colors fabric from Clarence House. Great to use in any exotic decor, Moorish, Moroccan Bohemian or as an accent in any modern or traditional decor. Vanity chair or desk chair or dining chair sure to be a conversation piece. 2 available, price is for one. Dimensions Height: 34.5 in. Back width: 25 in. Depth: 21 in. Seat height: 19.5 in. Seat width 20.5in. Petite armchair...Category
Mid-20th Century Indian Anglo-Indian Armchairs
MaterialsBone, Mother-of-Pearl