Set of Four Original Beechwood Chairs by Thonet
View Similar Items
Set of Four Original Beechwood Chairs by Thonet
About the Item
- Creator:Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 35 in (88.9 cm)Width: 17.5 in (44.45 cm)Depth: 18 in (45.72 cm)Seat Height: 18.5 in (46.99 cm)
- Style:Vienna Secession (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1910
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:New York City, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU901316127011
Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH
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 antique Gebrüder Thonet furniture on 1stDibs.
- Set of Six Original French 1940s Refinished Tall Back Dining ChairsLocated in New York City, NYSet of six fine original French Modernist beech wood dining chairs in the style of Jules Leleu. Tall elegant backs with sculptural detailing on top crest and lower backrest, featuring elegant cabriole front legs and tapered splay back legs. All six wood chair...Category
Mid-20th Century French Art Deco Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsBeech
- Set of Six Original French Art Deco Faux Macassar Ebony Wood Dining ChairsLocated in New York City, NYA beautiful set of six original French Modernist tall back, faux macassar dining / side chairs. Tall elegant backs with stepped linear top crest and angular shaped lower backrest, fe...Category
20th Century French Art Deco Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsMacassar
- Set of Six French Mid-Century Modern Dining ChairsLocated in New York City, NYSet of six original French Modernist dining chairs featuring an open airy designed frame. Tall backs with rounded vertical post and hor...Category
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsNaugahyde, Wood
- Set of Six French 1970's Ebonized and Lacquered ChairsLocated in New York City, NYAn original set of six French 1970's tall back ebonized wood dining chairs. Some of the chairs with original labels " NF ameublement siege 16" certified by L'Institut Technologiq...Category
Vintage 1970s French Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsNaugahyde, Wood
- Set of Six French 1940's Tall Back Dining Chairs- M. JallotBy Maurice JallotLocated in New York City, NYA beautiful set of six original French Art Deco tall back blonde wood dining chairs attributed to Maurice Jallot. Tall elegant backs with cur...Category
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsBeech, Naugahyde
- Four French Mid-Century Modern Dining / Side Chairs -Deep Mahogany FinishLocated in New York City, NYSet of four original French Modernist dining or side chairs featuring an open airy "X" designed frame with curved top reminiscent of the pagoda roofs of Far Eastern temples. Tall ba...Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsNaugahyde, Wood
- Set of Six Dining Chairs by Gustav Siegel for ThonetBy Gustav SiegelLocated in Banská Štiavnica, SKSet of six dining chairs by Gustav Siegel for Thonet from circa 1905s. Fully restored and covered with white fabric.Category
Antique Early 1900s Czech Vienna Secession Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Bentwood
- Set of four chairs by Marcel Kammerer for Thonet, circa 1910By Marcel Kammerer, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Lučenec, SKOne of the creations of designer Marcel Kammerer, manufactured by Gebruder Thonet in Vienna, part of Thonet salon suite Thonet no 6517. This classic desig...Category
Vintage 1910s Austrian Vienna Secession Chairs
MaterialsBrass
- Set of 2 Bentwood Cafe Chairs Attributed to ThonetBy ThonetLocated in New York, NYNice set of 2 dining, or cafe, chairs in bentwood and upholstery, attributed to Thonet. Clean ready to use condition, seats in later vinyl upholstery. No breaks or structural damage,...Category
Early 20th Century Austrian Vienna Secession Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Bentwood
- Set of 4 Antique vintage Dining Cafe Cane Bentwood Chairs by ThonetBy Thonet, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in BROOKLYN, NYSet of (4) Antique vintage cane seat cafe chairs by Thonet gebrüder. model No. 18 chairs. They are in original condition with nice patina. The dark Brown Walnut wood has been oiled s...Category
Vintage 1940s Polish Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsCane, Wood
- Secession Dining Chairs by ThonetBy ThonetLocated in Banská Štiavnica, SKSecession bentwood Thonet dining chairs. Professionally stained and repolished with new handmade rattan seats.Category
Vintage 1910s Slovak Vienna Secession Chairs
MaterialsRattan, Bentwood
$1,208 / set - Pair of Secession Josef Hoffmann Chairs Ex. by ThonetBy Josef HoffmannLocated in Banská Štiavnica, SKPair of secession Josef Hoffmann chairs ex. by Thonet. Professionally stained and repolished.Category
Antique Early 1900s Austrian Vienna Secession Chairs
MaterialsBentwood