Set of 3 chairs, manufactured by Gebrüder Thonet, no. 51, Vienna | Designed between 1870 – 1880, made before 1910
Beechwood, stained and varnished to mahogany; the Wiener Geflecht (Viennese wickerwork) has been renewed
It is a very rare model, offered in the 1904 Thonet catalogue as chair no. 51 or, optionally with armrests, as fauteuil no. 51. Its geometry anticipates important features of Viennese Art Nouveau. The fauteuil is part of the collection of the Museum Boppard: With the ingenuity of its construction the chair is different to the rest of the Thonet furniture and is seen as being ahead of its time. A distinguishing feature here is that due to formal construction characteristics, such a high stability is achieved that the leg ring became unnecessary. According to Asenbaum and Hummel, the design probably comes from August Thonet. See also the literature below.
Literature: Museumsrundgang: Thonet - Produktvielfalt, Museum Boppard, Boppard am Rhein, 2024
Gebrüder Thonet, Möbel aus gebogenem Holze, Reprint: Ellenberg, Peter W., Reprint nach dem Katalog der Firma Thonet, Wien, 1904, Edition libri rari, Th. Schäfer, Hannover, 1999, 10
Gebogenes Holz, Asenbaum, Stefan und Hummel, Julius mit Beitrag von Schweiger, Werner J., Eigenverlag J. Hummel und S. Asenbaum, Wien, 1979, 13 - 14
Details
H 91.5 x W 38.5 x D 42 cm H 48 x W 38.5 x D 38.5 cm (seat) Adhesive labels ‘Thonet Vienna’, in use from 1881 and embossed stamp on milled disc ‘Thonet Austria’, in use before 1910
