Set of Eight Art Nouveau Chairs Model 639 by Thonet, Cotton - Czechoslovakia
About the Item
- Creator:Thonet (Manufacturer)
- Attributed to:Josef Hoffmann (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 35.44 in (90 cm)Width: 16.15 in (41 cm)Depth: 17.72 in (45 cm)Seat Height: 18.9 in (48 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 8
- Style:Art Nouveau (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1910-1919
- Date of Manufacture:1918-1920
- Condition:Refinished. Reupholstered. Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Girona, ES
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1037613553342
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: Girona, Spain
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Set of Four Art Nouveau Chairs in the Style of Otto Prutscher, Mahogany -AustriaBy Otto PrutscherLocated in Girona, ESSet of four chairs in solid mahogany, French polish, new linen upholstery. In the style of Otto Prutscher, Austria, Vienna, circa 1910.Category
Vintage 1910s Austrian Art Nouveau Chairs
MaterialsLinen, Mahogany
- Pair of Art Nouveau Thonet Side Tables - Vienna, 1904By Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Girona, ESPair of tripod and triangular side tables in stained and varnished solid beech, thick glass tops with fleur-de-lys motif. Production: Thonet, Vienna, model 9104 from 1904.Category
Antique Early 1900s Austrian Art Nouveau Side Tables
MaterialsGlass, Beech
- Art Nouveau Center Table By Josef Hoffmann, Solid Oak, Carved Feet - AustriaBy Josef HoffmannLocated in Girona, ESCenter table, stained solid oak and oak veneer, carved feet, two table tops, French polish. Design: Josef Hoffmann. Austria, Vienna, circa 1914.Category
Vintage 1910s Austrian Art Nouveau Center Tables
MaterialsOak
- Set of Mid-Century Modern Chairs by Maison Stella in Stained Beech - FranceBy StellaLocated in Girona, ESSet of seven chairs with high-backs, stained beech with satiny shellac finishing. New upholstery in loop pile fabric in three colours. Fabricant: ...Category
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Beech
- Set of Mid-Century Modern Chairs in Mahogany by Silvio Coppola - Italy, 1970By Silvio CoppolaLocated in Girona, ESSet of eight chairs in solid mahogany, seats and backs in imitation leather. Very good quality. Original condition. Design: Silvio Coppola for Bernini. Italy, 1970.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsFaux Leather, Mahogany
- Set of 4 Mid-Century Modern Solid Oak Chairs with High Backs - SpainLocated in Girona, ESSet of 4 solid oak chairs with high backs, original blue-turquoise skai (faux leather) upholstery. Polished brass finishing large studs. Spain c. 1960.Category
Vintage 1960s Spanish Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsFaux Leather, Oak
- Pair Of Art Nouveau Thonet Chairs by Josef Hoffmann, 1st edition! - CZ ca. 1906By Thonet, Josef HoffmannLocated in Lichtenberg, ATVery rare pair of the first edition(!) of bentwood chairs by Thonet from the early 20th century, produced by Thonet in Bohemia. Designed around 1906 by none other than the world reno...Category
Early 20th Century Czech Art Nouveau Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Bentwood
- Arts and Craft Art Nouveau Set of 8 Bentwood Chairs Signed Thonet, 1900By ThonetLocated in Saarbruecken, DESet of 8 Thonet chairs, bentwood with viennese braid. all signed. As found condition. All chairs a solid and stable. 4 of the braids are perf...Category
Antique Early 1900s Spanish Art Nouveau Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsBentwood, Braid
- Art Nouveau Side Chair Designed by Thonet, Austria, 1910By ThonetLocated in Antwerp, BEClassic collectible chair by famous German-Austrian cabinetmaker Michael Thonet. Bentwood frame with hooped legs. The seat is embossed with a decorative floral motif.Category
Vintage 1910s Austrian Art Nouveau Side Chairs
MaterialsBentwood
- 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
- Beechwood Chair Thonet, Czechoslovakia, 1930sBy ThonetLocated in Prague 8, CZThis wood bistro chair Thonet was made in the former Czechoslovakia in the 1930´s. It´s made of beechwood. It´s no longer marked, probably the label ...Category
Mid-20th Century Czech Art Deco Chairs
MaterialsWood, Beech
- Thonet Bentwood Bistro Chair, Czechoslovakia 1940sBy ThonetLocated in Zohor, SKBeautiful vintage chair designed by Thonet. Bentwood details and construction makes this piece a timeless item. Plywood seat and backrest. Strong oak wood. The chair was partially re...Category
Vintage 1940s Czech Bauhaus Chairs
MaterialsOak, Bentwood, Plywood