Pair of Thonet Armchairs
View Similar Items
Pair of Thonet Armchairs
About the Item
- Creator:Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29.14 in (74 cm)Width: 20.48 in (52 cm)Depth: 19.3 in (49 cm)Seat Height: 18.12 in (46 cm)
- Style:Vienna Secession (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1900-1920
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Vienna, AT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU117422414202
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.
- Rare Thonet Armchair Desk ChairBy Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Vienna, ATBeech bentwood dark brown stained with an upholstered seat from the late 1930s.Category
Vintage 1930s Austrian Vienna Secession Armchairs
MaterialsBeech, Bentwood
- Thonet Armchairs by Otto WagnerBy Otto Wagner, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Vienna, ATBeach bentwood design by Otto Wagner about 1900 The fabric on the chairs is obsolete but I can offer you huge range Vienna Secession fabrics instad of. Delivery time 5-6 weeksCategory
Antique Early 1900s Austrian Vienna Secession Armchairs
MaterialsBeech, Bentwood
$2,800 / item - Thonet "Caminfauteuil" Fireplace Armchair Number OneBy Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Vienna, AToriginal conditionCategory
Antique Early 1900s Austrian Vienna Secession Armchairs
MaterialsBeech
- Armchair Designed by Josef Hofmann Manufactured by Thonet About 1905By Josef Hoffmann, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Vienna, ATArmchair designed by Josef Hoffmann stained beechwood for cabaret "Fledermaus" in Vienna circa 1905 with shortened curved armrests, upholstered back and seat, turned supports united by horse-shoe...Category
Early 20th Century Austrian Vienna Secession Armchairs
MaterialsBeech, Bentwood
- Set of Three Thonet ArmchairsBy Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Vienna, AToriginal condition in the past propably used as fornitures for the winter garden. restoration on requestCategory
Vintage 1930s Austrian Art Deco Armchairs
MaterialsBeech, Bentwood
$590 Sale Price / item26% Off - Bentwood Children Chair by ThonetBy Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Vienna, ATBeech bentwood Thonet Nr. 1 first time mentioned in the catalogue from the 1880s. This one is from 1910s-1920s. Chair is fully restored, walnut stained and shellack polished with ne...Category
Vintage 1910s Austrian Vienna Secession Armchairs
MaterialsBeech, Bentwood, Cane
$460 Sale Price22% Off
- Pair of Thonet Cafe Daum Style Bentwood ArmchairsBy Salvatore Leone, Michael ThonetLocated in Rio Vista, CARare pair of Michael Thonet Cafe Daum style bentwood armchairs produced by Salvatore Leone. Originally designed for the Cafe Daum in Vienna. These chairs fea...Category
Antique 19th Century Italian Vienna Secession Armchairs
MaterialsCane, Lacquer, Bentwood
$3,200 Sale Price / set20% Off - Pair of Secession Armchairs No.17 by ThonetBy ThonetLocated in Banská Štiavnica, SKPair of secession armchairs no.17 by Thonet in very good condition.Category
Vintage 1910s Austrian Vienna Secession Armchairs
MaterialsFabric, Rattan, Bentwood
$1,643 / set - Thonet Model No. 511 Bentwood Armchair, Vienna Secession, circa 1904By Thonet, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Austin, TXAn iconic armchair of the Vienna Secession movement, the Thonet model no. 511 bent beechwood armchair, featuring stunning lines and beautiful proportions. A design tour de force, it ...Category
Antique Early 1900s Austrian Vienna Secession Armchairs
MaterialsCane, Beech, Bentwood
- Pair of Secession Armchairs Atr. Adolf Loos Ex. by ThonetBy Adolf Loos, ThonetLocated in Banská Štiavnica, SKPair of secession armchairs atr. Adolf Loos ex. by Thonet in original condition.Category
Vintage 1910s Austrian Vienna Secession Armchairs
MaterialsBentwood
- Pair of armchairs mod. Fledermaus, Josef Hoffmann for Thonet, 1910sBy Josef HoffmannLocated in Argelato, BOPair of bentwood Armchairs mod. Fledermaus by Josef Hoffmann for Thonet, 1910s It is one of the most famous creations of the Austrian architect Josef Hoffmann, one of the founding f...Category
Vintage 1910s Austrian Vienna Secession Armchairs
MaterialsStraw, Bentwood
- Thonet Children's ArmchairBy Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Den Haag, NLAdorable child-sized version of the iconic Thonet armchair. Signed with sticker on bottom. Vienna, early 20th century. Small (old) fracture in the frame, see photos.Category
Antique Early 1900s Austrian Art Nouveau Armchairs
MaterialsBeech