Art Nouveau Étagère from Thonet, Vienna, 1904

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Description

Object: art nouveau étagère (tea table)
design: gebrüder thonet (vienna, 1904)
model number: 31 (9231)
manufacturer: gebrüder thonet (vienna, from … Read more Object: art nouveau étagère (tea table)
design: gebrüder thonet (vienna, 1904)
model number: 31 (9231)
manufacturer: gebrüder thonet (vienna, from 1904)
dimensions in cm (h x w x d): 78 x 82 x 40
material: beech - bentwood / plywood (mahogany red stained)
condition: good, with signs of age
provenance: lyon (france)
literature: thonet central anzeiger, 1904, volume 11, p. 3 / thonet brothers new york - austrian bentwood furniture 1906/1907, peter ellenberg collection / edition volutes1900, p. 74 https://www.musee-orsay.fr/fr/oeuvres/dressoir-ndeg31-19044 (accessed august 7, 2026)

further information:

this rare thonet tea table (model no. 31/9231) was created around 1904 and is one of the characteristic designs of early viennese modernism. The construction of bent beechwood combines the technical perfection of thonet's bentwood production with a restrained design language typical of the period. The curved side panels give the piece of furniture an exceptionally light and sculptural appearance despite its functional design.

the model's creation also coincides with a crucial phase in the company's history. Around 1904/05, thonet began to collaborate more intensively with architects and artists of viennese modernism. Shortly thereafter, otto wagner's student marcel kammerer took over the management of thonet's design office and significantly shaped the company's design direction. While no named designer has yet been identified for model no. 31, its minimalist, architecturally inspired design language is closely related to the design renewal initiated through collaborations with representatives of the vienna secession and the wagner school.

the present example bears an original trademark of model 2, which was used between 1881 and 1919.

the exceptionally good contemporary documentation of the model is noteworthy. The tea table is first presented as model no. 31 (9231) in the gebrüder thonet'schen zentral-anzeiger, volume 11, dated november 16, 1904. A few years later, it appeared in the american sales catalog thonet brothers new york – austrian bentwood furniture 1906/1907, where it was presented as part of a fully furnished living room. The illustration underscores the model's significance within the modern interior design concepts of the turn of the century and simultaneously documents the international marketing of viennese bentwood furniture.

the model is also represented in museum collections. A piece from the important georges candilis collection was acquired by the musée d'orsay in paris in 1984 and incorporated into its collection. Its inclusion in one of the most important international institutions for art and design of the late 19th and early 20th centuries underscores the art historical relevance of this design.

besides its original use as a tea table, the model, with its tiered shelves, was already ideally suited at the time of its creation for displaying art objects, plants, or decorative accessories. To this day, it is valued equally as a functional piece of furniture and as a sculptural collector's item of viennese modernism. This piece has an attribution mark,
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