Pair of vintage chrome-plated tubular steel armchairs by Thonet, Germany 1970

This set of two armchairs was made by the German manufacturer Thonet in the 1970s. The frame is made of chrome-plated tubular steel. The chairs are made of plywood and covered with black synthetic leather. The minimalist shape adds elegance, and the contoured seat improves comfort during use. Both pieces have manufacturing labels.Thonet is the oldest furniture company in the world. It began its long history in 1819, when carpenter Michael Thonet founded a furniture workshop in Boppard, Germany. A devotee 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 its famous Boppard chair (1836), brought it international fame. Thonet's designs achieved a lightness, durability, and comfort unprecedented in European furniture at the time. Iconic works from the Thonet collection include: rocking chair No. 1 (1860), café chair No. 14 (ca. 1859), Adolf Loos' museum café chair (1899), chair No. 209 (ca. 1900), Otto Wagner's chair No. 247 (1904) and Josef Hoffmann's No. 811 (1925). In the early 1920s, Gebrüder Thonet also began producing models in bent steel tube designed by Bauhaus masters such as Marcel Breuer, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Mart Stam.These chairs are in original vintage condition with age-related marks. The seat measures 41 cm high.