This pair of Thonet style bentwood chairs in steam-bent beech shows a one-piece curved board back supported by lower spindles and splayed legs. The round seat carries a central pressed pattern. Central Europe, circa 1920.
Attributed to the Thonet tradition or the Central European bentwood school (including makers such as Jacob & Josef Kohn or Fischel), this piece reflects the formal and structural standards of early 20th-century Viennese production, although no maker’s mark is present to confirm a definitive attribution.
Vienna Secession bentwood seating covered every register: café models, dining chairs, desk chairs. This variant with a full back — instead of the usual vertical spindles — was associated with slightly more formal use and bourgeois domestic interiors.
The back is executed as a single piece curved in a mould, which required selected wood and precise steam calibration. Legs and lower hoops follow the classic bentwood technique, bending continuous rods to avoid mitred joints.
The current patina is a deep walnut tone, even and honest, with consistent wear on the lower hoop and at the seat support points. The piece keeps its original finish without invasive restorations.
They suit a quiet dining table, an entryway or a desk well. The taller back than on other models makes them especially comfortable for standard-height tables and for extended use.
Details
- Materials and techniques: Steam-bent beech wood; one-piece curved board back; pressed round seat
- Place of origin: Central Europe
- Period: Vienna Secession
- Date of manufacture: Circa 1920
- Dimensions: Piece #1: Length 44 cm × Depth 47 cm × Height 91 cm (seat 49 cm) · Piece #2: Length 43 cm × Depth 43 cm × Height 89 cm (seat 48 cm)
- Condition: Good. Wear consistent with age and use. Manufacturer labels not preserved.
ONE OF A KIND PIECE
At Amaru Antiques (Barcelona) we select each antique for its history, its craftsmanship and the quiet presence it brings to a contemporary home.
