Rare set of four Michael Thonet theater chairs/armchairs from the production circa 1880-85. Intact. Steam-bent beech wood. With original fire stamp and manufacturer's label. Max height 76 cm, seat height 46 cm, max width 41 cm, max depth 50 cm. Stained and natural steam-bent beech wood. Buffed shellac polish. Intact items with fine buffed shellac polish. Manufacturer's stamp and label. Vienna circa 1880.
Observe the second photo that follows, which is a hypothetical computer simulation where the pieces are imagined in a high-end modern interior design context. They exhibit astonishing "modernity" and abstraction for pieces conceived 140 years ago, adding a great touch of class and elegance to the overall composition. The high-end antique Viennese cabinetmaking of early designers, including Michael Thonet, transcends time, even when compared to the lines of the most avant-garde contemporary modern furniture.
History of the prestigious Thonet manufactory.
Around 1830, Thonet experimented with veneer strips softened in boiling glue before inventing "bentwood furniture." In 1842, Prince Metternich, impressed by the talent of the Rhenish cabinetmaker, summoned him to Vienna. Here, Michael Thonet, along with his sons, dedicated himself to creating parquet flooring and furniture for the Liechtenstein Palace and Schwarzenberg Palace. With the creation of chair no. 4 for the Daum café on Vienna's Kohlmarkt, he soon conquered the Viennese café scene, laying the foundation for the development of furniture for "collectivities," i.e., public spaces. With the revolution of 1848, many people lost their jobs and found new employment in Thonet's new factories, which were equipped with steam engines. Success came in 1859, when the Gebrüder Thonet company, founded by Michael's sons, presented chair no. 14 in solid bentwood, the famous "Viennese straw chair," now considered one of the icons of design history. The Thonet brothers quickly understood the need to integrate new trends and technical developments into their work, adopting certain ideas that were still in their nascent stage. From the outset, they presented their creations at the industrial and craft exhibitions of the time. The multilingual catalogs of Gebrüder Thonet helped make the products known abroad, where they soon became bestsellers. Thus, sales branches were established in neighboring countries as well as more distant ones, developing a worldwide distribution network for Thonet furniture. The development of an innovative technique for bending solid wood (using hot steam), first by boiling glue, then by humidifying it with steam generated by an autoclave, before giving it the desired curvature in metal molds and re-hardening it by drying in ovens. This latter process was patented in 1842. Michael Thonet died in Vienna in 1871, and his sons continued the business. The most valuable original Thonet furniture dates from the "craft and design" phase of the mid-19th century. The first models created around the mid-century, first in Boppard and then in Moravia, are reference objects in the history of design and furniture, with museum-level importance. The production of the last third of the 19th century still holds considerable artistic and collectible interest, as production was still carefully managed, limited in number, and used techniques similar to the prototypes. The Austrian Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna and the Thonet GmbH museum in Frankenberg, Hesse, house one of the most extensive collections of original Thonet chairs.
Our Thonet furniture gallery, click on the following link
Principessa Sissi ® antichità. High antique gallery in Udine
Our antique chair gallery
Principessa Sissi ® antichità. High antique gallery in Udine
