Pair of Chairs by Josef Hoffmann, Model 511, for Thonet, Circa 1904, Austria

DESCRIPTION: Pair of Chairs by Josef Hoffmann, Model 511, for Thonet, Circa 1904, Austria. The frame is made of stained solid beech with a cane seat and the backrest with three turned wooden rods and three perforated holes.

CONDITION: Good condition. Wear consistent with age and use.

DIMENSIONS: Height: 97cm (39in) Width: 41cm (16in) Depth: 60cm (24in) Seat Height: 45cm (18in)

ABOUT THE DESIGNER: Josef Hoffmann was a prominent Austrian architect and designer, renowned for his contributions to the Vienna Secession and the Wiener Werkstätte. He is considered a key figure in the development of modernism and the “total work of art” concept, where architecture and design are integrated into all aspects of life.

ABOUT THE STYLE: Gebrüder Thonet or the Thonet Brothers was a European furniture manufacturer. Three firms descended from the original company remain active today, in Germany (Thonet GmbH), Austria (Thonet Vienna) and the Czech Republic (TON). Gebrüder Thonet were particularly known for their manufacture of bentwood furniture, for which they had developed the first industrial-scale production processes. These replaced previous individual craft skills with an investment in machinery that allowed any worker to produce accurate and repeatable bent components. Although steam bending was long established for pieces such as the Windsor chair, these older pieces had used the bending of a raw billet that would then be shaped to size afterwards. Thonet’s more precise process allowed timber to be machined with a surface finish as raw stock (usually as thick circular dowel), steam bent to shape, then used as a component almost immediately, without further machining other than to trim the ends.