Coat stand
after Michael Thonet (1796-1871)
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1900 - 1920
Materials
Beech
Measurements
204 cm (H)
Place of origin
Austria
Order this imageCollection
Montacute House, Somerset
NT 597638
Summary
A beech 'bentwood' coat stand, the design by Michael Thonet (1796-1871) Austria, made circa 1900-1920. With eight double S hooks at the top held by a turned cluster column and a stick rest below continuing to down swept legs.
Full description
Michael Thonet (1796–1871) was born in Boppard am Rhein, 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 shaped 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 (in what was then Austro-Hungary) 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, April 2019)
Provenance
Provenance uncertain.
Makers and roles
after Michael Thonet (1796-1871), furniture designer