Chairs in Bentwood, Central Europe, 1930, Set of 2

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A set of two antique chairs in bentwood, with a closed hoop back with an inner loop and a moulded … Read more A set of two antique chairs in bentwood, with a closed hoop back with an inner loop and a moulded board seat. Originates from Central Europe, where beech was steam-bent in iron moulds and assembled with through screws.The steam-bent beech chair was born in Vienna in the middle of the nineteenth century and became the most widespread seat in Europe: light, strong, knock-down and cheap to ship. Its presence in cafés, dining rooms and waiting rooms made it so common that it went almost unnoticed. Attributed to the Thonet tradition or the Central European bentwood school (including makers such as Jacob & Josef Kohn or Fischel), this piece reflects the formal and structural standards of early 20th-century Viennese production, although no maker’s mark is present to confirm a definitive attribution.The back hoop is a single length of steam-bent beech closed on itself, stiffened by an inner loop. The seat is circular with a moulded edge, and the lower ring ties the four sabre legs together.The beech has taken a pale honey tone under its original varnish, more golden where hands and clothes have passed. The seats show the sheen that years of use give, with the odd fine scratch. The curves keep their tension and the hoops have no play. The set is complete and stable.This is the Viennese café chair at its purest, and it works singly as well as in a row. Its light hoop lets the light through and does not visually load a small room. See less