Vintage Minimalist Chrome Armchairs from Thonet, 1970s, Set of 2

This set of two armchairs was manufactured by the German Thonet manufacture during the 1970s. The frame is made of chrome-plated tubular steel. The chairs are made by plywood and covered with black synthetic leather. The minimalist form adds elegance, and the contoured seat improves comfort during use. Both pieces have manufactory labels.

Thonet is the oldest existing furniture company in the world. It began its long business in 1819 when the carpenter Michael Thonet founded a furniture workshop in Boppard, Germany. A supporter of the Biedermeier style, he specialized in chairs, tables and cabinets characterized by clean lines, reduced ornamentation and an emphasis on the principles of functionalism. In the 1930s, Thonet’s experiments with glued and steam-bent wood furniture, such as his famous Boppard chair (1836), brought international acclaim. Thonet’s projects achieved lightness, durability and comfort unprecedented in European furniture at that time. The iconic works of the Thonet collection include: rocking chair No. 1 (1860), cafe chair No. 14 (c. 1859), chair of the Adolf Loos cafe museum (1899), chair No. 209 (c. 1900), Otto Wagner’s chair No. 247 (1904) and Josef Hoffmann’s No. 811 (1925). In the early 1920s, Gebrüder Thonet also began producing bent tubular steel designs by Bauhaus masters such as Marcel Breuer, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Mart Stam.

This armchairs are in original vintage condition with age-related marks. The seat is 41 cm high.