Austrian modern black wooden chairs by Ernst W. Beranek for Thonet, 1990s
About the Item
- Creator:Thonet (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 41.15 in (104.5 cm)Width: 21.46 in (54.5 cm)Depth: 22.45 in (57 cm)Seat Height: 18.9 in (48 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 5
- Style:Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1990-1999
- Date of Manufacture:1990s
- Condition:Very good condition.
- Seller Location:MIlano, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU4860236815082
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Milano, Italy
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- Austrian modern Chairs in black wood by Ernst W. Beranek for Thonet, 1990sBy ThonetLocated in MIlano, ITAustrian modern Chairs in black wood by Ernst W. Beranek for Thonet, 1990s Set of three chairs with square seat, padded and covered in black fabr...Category
1990s Austrian Modern Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Silk, Wood
- Austrian modern Chairs 414 in black wood purple fabric by Kammerer Thonet, 1990sBy Thonet, Marcel KammererLocated in MIlano, ITSet of 3 chairs mod. 414 with square seat and oval backrest, padded and covered in bright purple silk fabric. The structure is entirely made of black lacquered wood, with matt finish...Category
1990s Austrian Modern Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Silk, Wood
- Austrian modern white wooden pedestal with two tops by Thonet, 1990sBy ThonetLocated in MIlano, ITAustrian modern white wooden pedestal with two tops by Thonet, 1990s Pedestal or display stand with round base. The structure is entirely made of white lacquered wood with a matt fin...Category
1990s Austrian Modern Pedestals and Columns
MaterialsMetal
- Austrian modern white wood fabric tub chairs Joseph Hoffmann for Thonet, 1970sBy ThonetLocated in MIlano, ITAustrian modern white wood fabric tub chairs Joseph Hoffmann for Thonet, 1970s Set of four tub chairs. The structure is in white painted wood, has a rhomboid decoration on the sides ...Category
1990s Austrian Modern Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Italian Modern Black Metal Chair Savonarola by Maurizio Peregalli for Zeus 1990sBy Maurizio Peregalli, ZeusLocated in MIlano, ITItalian modern Black metal and rubber Chair Savonarola by Maurizio Peregalli for Zeus, 1990s Chair mod. Savonarola with square seat in textured black...Category
1990s Italian Modern Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Austrian antique wooden Thonet armchair with Vienna straw, early 1900sBy ThonetLocated in MIlano, ITAustrian antique wooden Thonet armchair with Vienna straw, early 1900s Chair with rounded seat in Vienna straw. The structure is entirely made of wood with a round section. The backr...Category
Antique Early 1900s Austrian Chairs
MaterialsStraw, Wood
- Thonet Postmodern Sculptural Wooden Chair, 1990s AustriaBy ThonetLocated in Zagreb, HRAn original Thonet Vienna sculptural postmodern wooden dining chair. Produced in 1996. High production quality. Reminiscent of the designs of Afra and Tobia Scarpa for B&B Italia in ...Category
1990s Austrian Post-Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsWood, Beech
- Thonet Vienna Wooden Childrens Chair, Austria, 1900sBy Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH, ThonetLocated in Vienna, ATA lovely wooden chair for children by Thonet Vienna, dated around 1900. In good, original condition with nice patina. Labelled and stamped.Category
Antique Early 1900s Austrian Art Nouveau Chairs
MaterialsWood
- Early 20th Century Austrian Wooden Curved Chair By ThonetBy ThonetLocated in High Point, NCIntroducing the timeless elegance of the early 20th Century with this exquisite Austrian Curved Chair by Thonet, a masterpiece of craftsmanship and design. Hailing from an era where ...Category
Early 20th Century Austrian Chairs
MaterialsWood, Bentwood
- Austrian Midcentury Beech Stacking Chairs by Karl Schwanzer for ThonetBy Karl Schwanzer, ThonetLocated in Vienna, ATThis set of two Austrian Midcentury stackable plywood chairs have been designed by one of the most important Austrian Midcentury Modern Architects Karl Schwanzer and manufactured by ...Category
Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsBeech, Plywood
- Thonet Black Swivel Austrian Art Nouveau Chair, 1890By ThonetLocated in Rome, ITThonet swivel chair for piano from the end of the 1800s. The chair in bent wood, is all in wood polished in black shellac. The seat, round in shape, is still covered with its origin...Category
Antique 1890s Austrian Art Nouveau Chairs
MaterialsWood
- 1900s Marcel Kammerer Chair No.6517 for Thonet, AustriaBy Marcel Kammerer, ThonetLocated in Praha, CZ- newly upholstered in Backhausen fabric - carefully refurbished and finished with ebony shellac - Height of seat 47 cm.Category
Antique Early 1900s Austrian Art Nouveau Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Wood