Rare Antique Thonet Art Nouveau Swing Rocking Chair 7401
View Similar Items
Rare Antique Thonet Art Nouveau Swing Rocking Chair 7401
About the Item
- Creator:Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 39.77 in (101 cm)Width: 24.02 in (61 cm)Depth: 28.35 in (72 cm)
- Style:Art Nouveau (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Circa 1905
- Condition:Repaired. Replacements made. Wear consistent with age and use. Minor structural damages.
- Seller Location:Norwich, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU6433229406712
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.
- 1960’s J16 Beechwood Danish Rocking Chair Designed By Hans WegnerBy Hans J. WegnerLocated in Norwich, GBA Danish design classic - J16 beechwood rocking chair by Hans Wegner. Introduced in 1944, this model dates to the 1960's, stamped 'Made in Denmark 66.5.1' along with the maker's la...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs
MaterialsBeech
- Antique English Art Nouveau Brass Fireplace FenderLocated in Norwich, GBAn Edwardian Art Nouveau brass fireplace fender. Circa 1900. The fender is structurally solid and in very good condition, with a few knocks in places. The inside measures 122.5...Category
Early 20th Century British Art Nouveau Fireplace Tools and Chimney Pots
MaterialsMetal, Brass
$802 Sale Price20% Off - Liberty & Co Japanese Carved Side Table Art NouveauBy Liberty & Co.Located in Norwich, GBA Japanese fruitwood carved side table, retailed by Liberty & Co. Circa 1900. These tables were commissioned by Liberty & Co, and hand-carved in Japan. The firm imported Middle Ea...Category
Antique 1890s Japanese Art Nouveau Side Tables
MaterialsFruitwood
- Art Nouveau Arts & Crafts Copper and Brass Cake StandLocated in Norwich, GBAn Art Nouveau period copper and brass hand-beaten three tier cake stand. English - circa 1900. There are some knocks and marks with age. Some of the edging to the tiers has been ...Category
Early 20th Century British Art Nouveau Serving Pieces
MaterialsBrass, Copper
$1,521 Sale Price20% Off - Art Nouveau Arts & Crafts Copper Table Top Dinner GongLocated in Norwich, GBAn Art Nouveau copper and brass table top dinner gong. Circa 1910. The brass gong is suspended from the copper stand embossed with sinuous stylized flower design. It has a lovely re...Category
Early 20th Century British Art Nouveau Musical Instruments
MaterialsBrass, Copper
$1,341 Sale Price20% Off - Edwardian Art Nouveau Copper & Oak Shop Sign "Townrow" Hatter HosierLocated in Norwich, GBA wonderful English Art Nouveau period polished copper & oak mounted shop sign, "Townrow". Circa 1905. There is some damage to the left hand side oak mount, please refer to the late...Category
Early 20th Century British Art Nouveau Signs
MaterialsCopper
$1,331 Sale Price20% Off
- Rocking Chair 7014 by Michael Thonet for ThonetBy Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Vlimmeren, BEThis old authentic rocking chair was designed Michael Thonet and manufactured by Thonet. It was in the catalogue of 1904. It is a design classic. This brown rocking chair...Category
Antique Early 1900s Austrian Art Nouveau Rocking Chairs
MaterialsBentwood
- Gebruder Thonet Bentwood Rocking Chaise Lounge ChairBy Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Chicago, ILGebruder Thonet bentwood rocking chaise lounge chair Scarcely seen model no. 7500. Designed 1880-1883. This model appears to be stamped JJ...Category
20th Century Art Nouveau Chaise Longues
MaterialsWood
- Rare Rocking Chair Thonet Nr.1By Michael ThonetLocated in Praha, CZVery rare model, the first rocking chair, which was by Michael Thonet invented. Depending on the form and used stamp, this is a very rare archaic model. The armchair was made for uph...Category
Antique Late 19th Century Austrian Belle Époque Rocking Chairs
MaterialsBentwood
$1,599 Sale Price20% Off - Thonet Rocking Chair Nr. 6By Michael ThonetLocated in Čelinac, BAThonet Rocking Chair Nr 6 for restauration.Category
Antique Early 1900s Austrian Art Nouveau Rocking Chairs
MaterialsBentwood
- Early 20th Century Art Nouveau Thonet Rocking Chair in Steam Bent BeechwoodBy Michael ThonetLocated in Vigonza, PaduaCode: FM07 Art Nouveau chair, original from the early '900 , with curved wood frame, new upholstered seat in leather of Siena's earth color. Frame In bent beechwood steam, with th...Category
Vintage 1910s Italian Art Nouveau Rocking Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Beech
- Rocking Chair Style Thonet circa 1930 Good ConditionBy J.&J. Khon 1, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Saint-Ouen, FRRocking chair style thonet circa 1930 good condition.Category
Early 20th Century Austrian Art Deco Rocking Chairs
MaterialsBeech