Four Chairs Thonet Nr.120, circa 1920
View Similar Items
Four Chairs Thonet Nr.120, circa 1920
About the Item
- Creator:Thonet (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 35.83 in (91 cm)Width: 16.15 in (41 cm)Depth: 20.87 in (53 cm)Seat Height: 18.51 in (47 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 4
- Style:Art Deco (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1920
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Praha, CZ
- Reference Number:Seller: Thonetky1stDibs: LU245639240903
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.
- Four Chairs Thonet Nr.14, 1900 circaBy ThonetLocated in Praha, CZIn very good original condition with a beautiful patina. Perfectly cleaned and polished with shellac.Category
Early 20th Century Austrian Art Nouveau Chairs
MaterialsBentwood
Sold$1,978 - Four Chairs Thonet, circa 1920By ThonetLocated in Praha, CZSolid and compact, perfectly clean. Newly upholstered in the recent past.Category
Early 20th Century Czech Arts and Crafts Chairs
MaterialsBentwood
Sold$1,099 / set - Chair Thonet Nr.4, circa 1860By Michael ThonetLocated in Praha, CZA rare early model of famous chair "Nr.14", manufactured in Austria by the Gebrüder Thonet company. New shelack finish. Marked with early paper label, which is used, circa 1860. Comp...Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Austrian Art Nouveau Chairs
MaterialsBeech, Bentwood
$2,462 Sale Price20% Off - Chair Thonet Nr.4, circa 1860By Michael ThonetLocated in Praha, CZVery rare chair, the oldest industrially produced version of chair no. 4. Newly restored.Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Austrian Belle Époque Chairs
MaterialsBeech, Bentwood
$1,758 Sale Price / item20% Off - Set of Three Bentwood Chairs Nr. 14, Ton, Michael Thonet, 1950sBy Ton N.P. Bystřice pod Hostýnem, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Praha, CZ- Rare type. - Confortable. - Marked by label.Category
Vintage 1950s Czech Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsBentwood
On Hold$658 / set - Four Armhairs Thonet, circa 1920By Thonet, D. G. FischellLocated in Praha, CZOriginal state with a pleasant patina of age, perfectly cleaned and repolished with french polish.Category
Early 20th Century Czech Art Deco Chairs
MaterialsBeech, Bentwood
$1,978 / set
- Five Original circa 1920 Dinette Josef Hoffmann Thonet 811 Bergere Dining ChairsBy ThonetLocated in GBWe are delighted to offer for sale this stunning suite of five original circa 1920’s, hand made in Poland, Dinette chairs, designed by Josef Frank and J...Category
Vintage 1920s Polish Art Deco Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsBentwood
$3,932 Sale Price / set20% Off - Set of Four Thonet Bentwood Cafe Dining Chairs RomaniaBy ThonetLocated in Port Jervis, NYSet of 4 very sturdy and tight bentwood sweetheart chairs by Thonet and crafted in Romania. Brown vinyl seat seat covering that can be changed easi...Category
Vintage 1960s Romanian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsBeech, Naugahyde
- Set of Four Thonet St14 Chairs by Hans LuckhardtBy Thonet, Hans & Wassili LuckhardtLocated in Dronten, NLThis hard to find set of 4 Thonet chairs, model ST 14, represents the modernist idea of the Bauhaus in an elegant way. Designed in 1931 for DESTA Berlin, later Thonet, Hans Luckhardt...Category
Mid-20th Century German Bauhaus Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
$3,850 / set - Thonet Chair Nr 28By ThonetLocated in Čelinac, BAThonet chair Nr 28 by Josef HoffmannCategory
Vintage 1910s Austrian Art Nouveau Chairs
MaterialsBentwood
$608 Sale Price20% Off - 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
$1,209 / set - August Thonet Chairs, Set of 6, Czech Republic, 50s Signed ThonetBy ThonetLocated in Mombuey, Zamorathis description has been automatically translated and may not be completely accurate. H77 x W37 x D44 They are in very good condition, very solid.Category
Early 20th Century Czech Other Chairs
MaterialsCane, Bentwood