Antique chrome serving table, Thonet, Jindřich Halabala
About the Item
- Creator:Jindrich Halabala (Artist),Thonet (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29.53 in (75 cm)Width: 31.5 in (80 cm)Depth: 16.93 in (43 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1935
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Praha, CZ
- Reference Number:
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.
Jindrich Halabala
Thanks to design lovers’ enthusiasm for Art Deco and mid-century modern furniture, and the increasingly competitive market for pieces by more famous creators, 20th-century Czech designers are making their way back onto the international stage. Foremost among these talents is Jindrich Halabala.
Halabala was a cabinetmaker’s son whose training was almost wholly focused on woodwork, first at a state-run vocational school for woodworking in Valašské Meziříčí and later at UP Závody in Brno, where he ultimately became chief designer. His curvaceous bentwood H chairs, such as the H269 and H237, and stylized ottomans have become classics, while his 1930s and 1940s sofas, tables and storage cabinets, with their sweeping curves, stylized geometry and dark, richly grained wood, embody the best of Art Deco furniture design, a style that was brought to worldwide attention at an exhibition in Paris in 1925.
Some see Halabala's work as the segue between early 1900s Czech Cubism and the modern style that dominated the mid-century.
Find a collection of vintage Jindrich Halabala furniture today on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Litoměřice, Czech Republic
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Thonet table Nr.221By Michael ThonetLocated in Praha, CZSolid and compact. In original condition with a beautiful patina of age. Perfectly cleaned and polished with shellac.Category
Early 20th Century Austrian Belle Époque Serving Tables
MaterialsBeech, Bentwood
- 1930 Pair of Armchairs + Spider Table, by Halabala for Thonet, CzechoslovakiaBy Jindrich Halabala, ThonetLocated in Praha, CZ- Good original condition - Table: 65 x 65 x 65 cm.Category
Vintage 1930s Czech Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric, Wood
- 1950s Jindrich Halabala Mahogany Bedside Tables, CzechoslovakiaBy Jindrich HalabalaLocated in Praha, CZ- Refurbished - some sign of use in the veneer parts - sturdy and stable.Category
Vintage 1950s Czech Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsWood, Mahogany
- Coffee Table Spider by Jindrich Halabala, 1950'sBy Jindrich HalabalaLocated in Praha, CZMade in Czechoslovakia. Made of wood. Re-polished. Good original condition.Category
Vintage 1950s Czech Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood
- 1950s Jindrich Halabala Armchair, CzechoslovakiaBy Jindrich HalabalaLocated in Praha, CZ- One wood has a small crack in the bend - The fabric is pale from daylight, in places where there was no bedspread - The chairs are in original condition, with signs of use - The se...Category
Mid-20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric, Wood
- Midcentury Vintage Chrome and Laminated Wood Folding Serving Trolley, 1950sLocated in Praha, CZMid-Century Modern, vintage serving tea cart consisting of laminated wood and chrome. Produced in Germany in the 1950s. Very good vintage condition.Category
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Serving Tables
MaterialsChrome
- Luxury Glazed Art Deco Drinks Cabinet by Jindrich HalabalaBy Up Závody, Jindrich HalabalaLocated in Prague 8, CZArt Deco glass drinks cabinet/bar, made in Czechoslovakia probably in the 1930´s by the world famous architect Jindrich Halabala and manufactured ...Category
Mid-20th Century Czech Art Deco Serving Tables
MaterialsWood, Walnut, Glass
- Chrome Oak Bauhaus Trolley, Completely Restored, Halabala, UP Zavody, 1930sBy Up Závody, Jindrich HalabalaLocated in Horomerice, CZEarly 20th century unique Czech Bauhaus trolley. Period: 1920-1929. Material: Oak and chrome-plated steel Source: Czech (Czechoslovakia) Maker: U...Category
Early 20th Century Czech Bauhaus Serving Tables
MaterialsChrome
- Restored Art Deco Serving Trolley Made in the 1930s by Thonet, Walnut and SteelBy ThonetLocated in Horomerice, CZArt Deco serving trolley by Thonet Completely restored. Surface was made by piano lacquers to the high gloss. Walnut veneer.Category
Vintage 1930s Art Deco Serving Tables
MaterialsChrome
- Antique French Serving TableLocated in Calgary, AlbertaAntique French painted serving table with 4 deep dovetailed drawers. The unadorned top sits on 4 simple slightly splayed legs. It has a very English feel to the design and possibl...Category
Antique 19th Century French Art Nouveau Serving Tables
MaterialsPine
- English Antiqued Serving TableLocated in Westwood, NJA mahogany and reclaimed oak veneered serving table, the galleried top and undertaker with a glass overlay, on spiral turned legs joined by an under tier fitted with two drawers, on ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Rustic Carts and Bar Carts
MaterialsWood
- Restored Art Deco Trolley, by Thonet, Oak, Glass, Veneer, Chrome, Czech, 1920sBy ThonetLocated in Horomerice, CZRestored Art Deco Trolley Source: Czech Period: 1920-1929 Made by influential Austrian furniture manufacturer Thonet. The chrome parts have been cleaned and professionally rest...Category
Vintage 1920s Czech Art Deco Serving Tables
MaterialsSteel, Chrome