Bauhaus Chair Thonet A283 by Gustav Adolf Schneck in 1928

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About the Item

Manufactured in Czechoslovakia by the Thonet-Mundus. Designed in year 1928 by prof. Gustav Adolf Schneck. Bent beechwood. New shellac finish.Creator: Thonet-Mundus (Manufacturer),Gustav Adolf Schneck (Designer)Dimensions: Height: 30.71 in (78 cm)Width: 16.93 in (43 cm)Depth: 16.54 in (42 cm)Seat Height: 16.54 in (42 cm)Style: Bauhaus (In the Style Of)Materials and Techniques: BentwoodPlace of Origin: Czech RepublicPeriod: Early 20th CenturyDate of Manufacture: 1928Condition: GoodRepaired. Refinished.Seller Location: Praha, CZReference Number: Seller: Thonetky1stDibs: LU2456323786262Shop All Thonet-Mundus

Thonet-Mundus

For more than 180 years,Thonet orGebrder Thonet has produced elegant and durabletablesandcabinetsas well aschairs,stoolsand otherseatingthat 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.

Changes in the organizational structure of Thonet since its inception in 1853 included a merger with Mundus, a Viennese company that Rudolf Weill Co.’s Leopold Pilzer founded in 1907. Mundus was a joint stock firm that comprised a range of small bentwood furniture makers. The Thonet and Mundus merger took place in the early 20th century, which followed Munduss becoming a majority stakeholder in J. J. Kohn. The merger yielded the formation of Thonet-Mundus in 1922.

Noted for his skill inparquetry, German-Austrian company founderMichael Thonetreceived an invitation from Austrian Chancellor Prince Metternich to contribute Neo-Rococointeriors to theLiechtenstein City Palacein Vienna. The Boppard-born Thonet had honed his carpentry skills in his fathers workshop, where he carried out experiments with plywood and modified theBiedermeierchairs that populated the studio.

Thonets work for the chancellor raised his profile, and the cabinetmaker gained international recognition, including at Londons Great Exhibition of 1851, which featured works created by members of theArts and Craftsmovement 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 familys company, the Thonet Brothers, with his sonsin 1853.

Bentwood furnituredates as far back as the Middle Ages, but it is the 19th-century cabinetmaker Thonet who is most often associated withthis 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 renownedmid-century moderndesigners such asAlvar Aalto,Arne Jacobsen, andCharles and Ray Eamesthat 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 worlds oldest mass-produced chair, Michael Thonets ubiquitousChair No. 14demonstrated that his patented bentwood technology made it possible to efficiently produce furniture on an industrial scale. Now known as the214, it won the German Sustainability Award Design for 2021, a recognition of the companys commitment to environmentally responsible production.

Often called theCoffee House chair the companys 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 formodern 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 Thonets reputation attracted the attention of notable architects includingOtto Wagner,Marcel BreuerandLudwig Mies van der Rohe.

The No. 14 was followed by the No. 18, or the Bistro chair, in 1867, and the 209, or the Architects chair, of whichLe Corbusierwas a fan. (The influentialSwiss-French architect and designerused Thonet furniture in his Pavillon de lEsprit Nouveau at the1925 International Exposition of Decorative Arts in Paris.)

Thonets chair designs also appeared in artwork byToulouse-Lautrec,John SloanandHenri Matissein hisInterior with a Violin Case. The noteworthyThonet rocking chairremains a marvel of construction in the middle of the 19th century, Michael produced a series ofrockersin 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 ofPablo Picasso,Pierre-Auguste RenoirandJames Tissot.

Thonet is currently split into global divisions. Thonet Industries U.S.A. was acquired in 1987 byShelby Williamsand joined the CF Group in 1999, while the Thonet brand in Germany is owned by Thonet GmbH.

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