Chair
Chair
ca. 1859 (manufactured)
ca. 1859 (manufactured)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Thonet’s no 14 chair was almost certainly the most popular chair mass produced between the 1860s and the 1930s, with some 50 million said to have been manufactured during that period. This chair became so ubiquitous that we are liable to underestimate the remarkable originality of the design and of the method of manufacture when first introduced. This model was the cheapest of Thonet's chairs and this particular example was manufactured in the first decade that the firm made furniture from solid, rather than laminated, beechwood. Later examples were neither so thin nor delicately shaped. Around the time when this example was made, Thonet introduced their first broadsheet catalogue, offering 14 different designs in both chair and armchair versions, with some also as settees.
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Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Chair (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Steam-bent, solid beechwood frame, laminated beech and caned seat, stained wooden parts |
| Brief description | Chair, model no. 14, designed and manufactured by Thonet Brothers, ca. 1859 |
| Physical description | Chair, steam-bent, solid beechwood frame, laminated beech and caned seat, all wooden parts are stained. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | 'GB THONET Wien' (Impressed mark.) |
| Gallery label | Chair, model no. 14
About 1859
Designed and manufactured by Thonet Brothers (Gebrüder Thonet)
Designed in Austria (Vienna)
Manufactured in Moravia (Koritschan, now Koryčany in the Czech Republic)
Frame: steam-bent, solid beechwood
Seat: laminated beech, caned
All wooden parts stained
Impressed mark ‘GB THONET Wien’
Museum no. W.31-2011
This is a particularly early example of Thonet’s archetypal café chair. Later versions were made of thicker wood and were less refined in shape. In addition, a circular seat rail was added below the seat. It was the cheapest of the Thonet chairs and used mainly, though not exclusively, in commercial settings such as cafés, restaurants, hotels and offices. (01/12/2012) |
| Place depicted | |
| Summary | Thonet’s no 14 chair was almost certainly the most popular chair mass produced between the 1860s and the 1930s, with some 50 million said to have been manufactured during that period. This chair became so ubiquitous that we are liable to underestimate the remarkable originality of the design and of the method of manufacture when first introduced. This model was the cheapest of Thonet's chairs and this particular example was manufactured in the first decade that the firm made furniture from solid, rather than laminated, beechwood. Later examples were neither so thin nor delicately shaped. Around the time when this example was made, Thonet introduced their first broadsheet catalogue, offering 14 different designs in both chair and armchair versions, with some also as settees. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.31-2011 |
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| Record created | September 26, 2011 |
| Record URL |
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