Pair of minimalist armchairs, Thonet, Germany, 1970s

Description

Pair of minimalist armchairs, Thonet, Germany, 1970s

A pair of armchairs manufactured by the German furniture maker Thonet in the 1970s. The base is made of chromed tubular steel. The seat and backrest are upholstered in black synthetic leather. The seat is additionally reinforced with plywood. The minimalist form lends an elegant appearance, while the contoured seat ensures comfort during use. Both pieces bear the manufacturer’s labels.

Thonet is the oldest furniture company still in existence in the world. Its long history began in 1819, when cabinetmaker Michael Thonet founded a furniture workshop in Boppard, Germany. A proponent of the Biedermeier style, he specialised in chairs, tables and cabinets characterised by clean lines, restrained ornamentation and an emphasis on the principles of functionalism. In the 1830s, Thonet’s experiments with laminated and steam-bent wood, such as his famous Boppard chair (1836), brought him international recognition. Thonet’s designs achieved a degree of lightness, durability and comfort previously unseen in European furniture. Iconic pieces in the Thonet collection include rocking chair no. 1 (1860), café chair no. 14 (c. 1859), Adolf Loos’s Café Museum chair (1899), armchair no. 209 (c. 1900), Otto Wagner’s armchair no. 247 for the Postal Savings Bank (1904), and Josef Hoffmann’s no. 811 (1925). In the early 20th century, Gebrüder Thonet also began producing designs made of bent tubular steel by Bauhaus masters such as Marcel Breuer, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Mart Stam.

The armchairs are in original vintage condition. They show minor age-related signs of wear. The seat height is 41 cm.

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