Chair
Michael Thonet (1796-1871)
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1930
Materials
Beech, plywood
Measurements
89 x 42.5 x 53.5 cm
Place of origin
Austria
Order this imageCollection
Kingston Lacy Estate, Dorset
NT 1254865.1
Summary
One of a set of three beech bentwood chairs, in the manner of Michael Thonet, (Austrian, 1796–1871) circa 1930. Each with a faux crocodile skin back panel and circular seat, raised on turned splayed legs tied by a ring stretcher. Thonet was born in Boppard, Prussia, and trained as a traditional cabinet-maker. In the 1830s, as an alternative to the laborious technique of carving, he began bending wood to create furniture. In 1855 Thonet made a key technological breakthrough; after years of bending laminated wood, he discovered that by attaching a metal strip along its length, solid wood could be bent in a similar way. This eliminated the costly lamination process and earned patents guaranteeing a virtual monopoly on production. In 1857 Thonet built a new factory in Koritschan in the Moravian Forests with a ready supply of beech wood, plenty of cheap labour and access to important rail links. The firm went on to mass-produce ‘bentwood’ furniture in unprecedented numbers, manufacturing up to 1.8 million pieces a year by 1912. James Weedon (June 2018)
Provenance
Bequest of the estates of Corfe Castle and Kingston Lacy made to the National Trust by Henry John Ralph Bankes (1902-1981). NT ownership commenced from 19th August 1982
Marks and inscriptions
Thonet Austria (under seat)
Makers and roles
Michael Thonet (1796-1871), cabinetmaker