Thonet Chair

A beautiful caned Thonet miniture chair with charming appeal created in 1859. This item is in excellent condition with original hand painted gilt work on the frame. The caned seat retains a taught rigor to the cane surface. Michael Thonet was the son of master tanner. Following a carpenter's apprenticeship, Thonet set himself up as an independent cabinetmaker in 1819. In the 1830s, Thonet began trying to make furniture out of glued and bent wooden slats. Thonet's essential breakthrough was his success in having light, strong wood bent into curved, graceful shapes by forming the wood in hot steam. This enabled him to design entirely novel, elegant, lightweight, durable and comfortable furniture, which appealed strongly to fashion. A complete departure from the heavy, carved designs of the past and whose aesthetic and functional appeal remains to this day. 
Dimensions: H: 60cm Seat H: 32cm, Seat Diameter: 34cm.