Bentwood Spiral
- Artist
- Gebrüder Thonet, Vienna, Austria, founded 1853
- Date
- c.1885
- Material
- Ash
- Classification
- Furniture
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 122
- Dimensions
- 51 7/8 x 38 1/8 x 4 7/8 in. (131.8 x 96.9 x 12.4 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Frank Jacobs and Marylen Mann Jacobs
- Rights
- Contact Us
- Object Number
- 273:2001
NOTES
The Austrian furniture manufacturer Gebrüder Thonet made this extraordinary Spiral from a single board 28 feet long. The Spiral is a tour de force of Thonet’s wood bending capabilities, and the purity of its lines exemplifies the aesthetic appeal of bentwood furniture. During the 1850s, the firm’s founder, Michael Thonet, perfected a process of bending lengths of steamed beechwood rods in iron molds. Before then, the construction of most furniture relied on connecting separate pieces of wood by the use of interlocking joints. Thonet’s technological innovations led to the first mass-production of standardized furniture.
Provenance
c.1885 - still in 1953
Gebrüder Thonet; Thonet Brothers [1]
1987 - 1999
Thonet Industries, Inc. (Fern and Manfred Steinfeld), Chicago, IL [2]
1999 - 2001
Falcon Companies (Frank Jacobs), St. Louis, MO [3]
2001 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Frank Jacobs and Marylen Mann Jacobs [4]
Notes:
[1] This work was owned by the Gebrüder Thonet company, and remained its property during changes in the company's ownership. The Spiral was included in an exhibition of Thonet furniture and illustrated in promotional materials of the exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in August 1953 [SLAM document files].
[2] According to correspondence confirming a telephone conversation between Manfred Steinfeld and SLAM staff Pam Stewart, dated November 13, 2001, Mr. Steinfeld (co-founder of Shelby Williams Industries, Ltd.) purchased the Thonet company in 1987 [SLAM document files]. When the Spiral was included in an exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago, ownership was credited to "Collection of Shelby Williams Industries, Inc." [Zelleke, Ghenette, Eva Ottillinger and Nina Stritzler. "Against the Grain: Bentwood Furniture from the Collection of Fern and Manfred Steinfeld." Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1993, cat. no. 43].
[3] According to correspondence between Manfred Steinfeld and SLAM staff Pam Stewart, dated November 13, 2001, Mr. Steinfeld sold the Thonet company and the Spiral to Falcon Industries in 1999. [SLAM document files].
[4] Deed of gift dated December 12, 2001 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, February 25, 2002.
Gebrüder Thonet; Thonet Brothers [1]
1987 - 1999
Thonet Industries, Inc. (Fern and Manfred Steinfeld), Chicago, IL [2]
1999 - 2001
Falcon Companies (Frank Jacobs), St. Louis, MO [3]
2001 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Frank Jacobs and Marylen Mann Jacobs [4]
Notes:
[1] This work was owned by the Gebrüder Thonet company, and remained its property during changes in the company's ownership. The Spiral was included in an exhibition of Thonet furniture and illustrated in promotional materials of the exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in August 1953 [SLAM document files].
[2] According to correspondence confirming a telephone conversation between Manfred Steinfeld and SLAM staff Pam Stewart, dated November 13, 2001, Mr. Steinfeld (co-founder of Shelby Williams Industries, Ltd.) purchased the Thonet company in 1987 [SLAM document files]. When the Spiral was included in an exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago, ownership was credited to "Collection of Shelby Williams Industries, Inc." [Zelleke, Ghenette, Eva Ottillinger and Nina Stritzler. "Against the Grain: Bentwood Furniture from the Collection of Fern and Manfred Steinfeld." Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1993, cat. no. 43].
[3] According to correspondence between Manfred Steinfeld and SLAM staff Pam Stewart, dated November 13, 2001, Mr. Steinfeld sold the Thonet company and the Spiral to Falcon Industries in 1999. [SLAM document files].
[4] Deed of gift dated December 12, 2001 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, February 25, 2002.