Double Children's Bench, Chair, with Table Thonet, from 1885
View Similar Items
Double Children's Bench, Chair, with Table Thonet, from 1885
About the Item
- Creator:Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 21.26 in (54 cm)Width: 45.28 in (115 cm)Depth: 18.9 in (48 cm)Seat Height: 9.45 in (24 cm)
- Style:Art Nouveau (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:Beech,Bentwood
- Place of Origin:Austria
- Period:Late 19th Century
- Date of Manufacture:1885
- Condition:Refinished. Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Praha, CZ
- Reference Number:Seller: Thonetky1stDibs: LU2456321337682
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.
- Bauhaus Children's Chrome ChairLocated in Praha, CZ- Producer: Unknown, maybe Thonet - Original orange color - Chrome with patina - Original condition (see detailed pictures) - circa 1930.Category
Vintage 1930s Bauhaus Chairs
MaterialsChrome
- Gebrüder Thonet Folding Chair No.1, circa 1867By Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Praha, CZManufactured in Austria by the Gebrüder Thonet company. First view of the chair is in the sales catalog from 1867. Newly reupholstered and finished with shellac.Category
Antique Late 18th Century Austrian Art Nouveau Armchairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Wood, Fabric
- Chair Thonet Nr. 404, Marcel Kammerer in 1905By Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH, Marcel KammererLocated in Praha, CZExtremely rare chair Thonet Nr. 404. Probably designed for the wine bar of the Municipal House in Prague in 1910 by a minor modification of a chair designed by Marcel Kammerer possib...Category
Early 20th Century Austrian Art Nouveau Chairs
MaterialsBentwood
$3,944 / item - Viennese Chair Gebrüder Thonet Nr.14, circa 1860By Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Praha, CZA rare early model of famous chair "Nr.14", manufactured in Austria by the Gebrüder Thonet Company. With original luxury finish, imitating rosewood. Marked with early paper label, wh...Category
Antique Late 19th Century Austrian Art Nouveau Chairs
MaterialsBeech, Bentwood
- Folding Chair Thonet Nr.1 with Arms and Legrest, since 1883By Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Praha, CZManufactured in Austria by the Gebrüder Thonet company. Original state with a pleasant patine of age, perfectly cleaned and re-polished with shelack. New cannung.Category
Antique Late 19th Century Austrian Belle Époque Chairs
MaterialsBentwood
$2,541 Sale Price20% Off - Chair Thonet Nr. 33, 1881-1887By Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Praha, CZOriginal state with a pleasant patina of age, perfectly cleaned and re-polished. New canning in seat.Category
Antique Late 19th Century Austrian Belle Époque Chairs
MaterialsBentwood
- Thonet Bentwood Chairs with Table, Art Nouveau Seating Set, Austria, circa 1915By Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Lichtenberg, ATBeautiful bentwood seating set made by the famous Austrian manufactory of Thonet around 1915. This artfully processed Art Nouveau seating set consists of four exceptional craftedb chairs, all made of fine beechwood that has been bent under steam and high pressure to get this outstanding looking result. All chairs have been newly upholstered with the original, renowned "Vienna mesh", typical for these kind of chairs. The very special design with beautiful arranged high backrests is absolutely matchless. A lovely round beechwood table with unique designed feet and an additional "floating" compartment finalizes the look of this remarkable Thonet suite...Category
Early 20th Century Austrian Art Nouveau Chairs
MaterialsBeech, Bentwood
- Otto Wagner Attributed, Thonet Jugendstil Coffee Table with LabelBy Woka Lamps, Otto Wagner, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Vienna, ATBeechwood, stained light-brown, brass fittings, Thonet label on the underside of the plate, refurbished, H. 75,7 cm, Dm. 69,8 cm. Literatur: Thonetkatalog, 1911/15, S. 151; vgl. Auss...Category
Vintage 1910s Austrian Jugendstil Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Mid-Century Modern Walnut Children’s Work Table by Herman MillerBy Herman MillerLocated in Los Angeles, CAA modernist children’s table by Herman Miller with a square tabletop and metal frame. Four round legs of brushed steel with steel glides sit slightly inset from the corners of the wo...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Original and Documented Jugendstil Dressing Table by Otto Prutscher for ThonetBy Otto Prutscher, Woka Lamps, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Vienna, ATAn extremely rare dressing table designed by Otto Prutscher and manufactured at Gebrueder Thonet in 1908. Literature: Innendekoration 1917 as well as a very similar model for the Vil...Category
Antique Early 1900s Austrian Jugendstil Vanities
MaterialsBeech
- Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH Magistretti 03 02 Circular Table with Glass TopBy Adolf Loos, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Brooklyn, NYSupport structure in solid beech with round section elements. The base is made up of three legs intersected by two hoops of the same diameter. The round , flush top is in extra clear...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Tables
MaterialsWood
- Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH MOS Side Table in Wood with Brass FeetBy Adolf Loos, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Brooklyn, NYMOS is the family of storage units designed by GamFratesi with console, bookcase and side table, which can also be used as a bedside table, that incorporates the style of the bench o...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Side Tables
MaterialsWood