Pair of antique chairs in Thonet bentwood – Central Europe, circa 1930 #9
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Product description
A set of two antique chairs in bentwood, with a closed hoop back with an inner loop and a moulded board seat. Originates from Central Europe, where beech was steam-bent in iron moulds and assembled with through screws.
The steam-bent beech chair was born in Vienna in the middle of the nineteenth century and became the most widespread seat in Europe: light, strong, knock-down and cheap to ship. Its presence in cafés, dining rooms and waiting rooms made it so common that it went almost unnoticed. One of the chairs retains the Thonet maker’s mark. The Viennese house industrialised steam-bending of beech in the middle of the nineteenth century and turned the café chair into the first mass-produced piece of furniture in European history.
The back hoop is a single length of steam-bent beech closed on itself, stiffened by an inner loop. The seat is circular with a moulded edge, and the lower ring ties the four sabre legs together. The seat carries a radial pierced pattern cut through the centre of the board.
The beech has taken a pale honey tone under its original varnish, more golden where hands and clothes have passed. The seats show the sheen that years of use give, with the odd fine scratch. The curves keep their tension and the hoops have no play. The set is complete and stable.
This is the Viennese café chair at its purest, and it works singly as well as in a row. Its light hoop lets the light through and does not visually load a small room.
Details
Ref.: AM28097-S2-9
Dimensions:
Piece #1: Length 41 cm – Width 41 cm – Height 90 cm – Seat Height 46 cm
Piece #2: Length 44 cm – Width 49 cm – Height 92 cm – Seat Height 46 cm
Style: Vienna Secession
Materials and techniques: Steam-bent solid beech; moulded board seat; original varnish.
Place of origin: Central Europe
Period: Vienna Secession
Date of manufacture: Circa 1930
Condition: Retains its old varnish with wear at edges and feet. The joints are firm. Wear consistent with age and use.
This piece is part of the curated collection of Amaru Antiques, Barcelona.
ONE OF A KIND PIECE
Additional details:
- Brand: AMARU
- Style: Viena Secession
- Style: Vienna Secession
- Material: Bentwood
- Material: Beech
- Colour: Honey
- Colour: Golden
- Period: Circa 1930