Marcel Breuer Bauhaus side table B12 - Thonet
About the Item
- Creator:Marcel Breuer (Designer),Thonet (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 23.63 in (60 cm)Width: 29.93 in (76 cm)Depth: 15.56 in (39.5 cm)
- Style:Bauhaus (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1930
- Condition:
- Seller Location:The Hague, NL
- Reference Number:
Marcel Breuer
The architect and designer Marcel Breuer was one the 20th century’s most influential and innovative adherents of modernism. A member of the Bauhaus faculty, Breuer — like such colleagues as the architects Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and the artists and art theoreticians László Moholy-Nagy and Josef Albers — left Europe in the 1930s to champion the new design philosophy and its practice in the United States.
Born in Hungary, Breuer became a Bauhaus student in 1920 and quickly impressed Gropius, the German school’s founder, with his aptitude for furniture design. His early work was influenced by the minimalist Dutch design movement De Stijl — in particular the work of architect Gerrit Rietveld.
In 1925, while he was head of the Bauhaus furniture workshop, Breuer realized his signature innovation: the use of lightweight tubular-steel frames for chairs, tables and sofas — a technique soon adopted by Mies and others. Breuer’s attention gradually shifted from design to architecture, and, at the urging of Gropius, he joined his mentor in 1937 on the faculty of Harvard and in an architectural practice.
In the 1940s, Breuer opened his own architectural office, and there his style evolved from geometric, glass-walled structures toward a kind of hybrid architecture — seen in numerous Breuer houses in New England — that pairs bases of local fieldstone with sleek, wood-framed modernist upper floors. In his later, larger commissions, Breuer worked chiefly with reinforced concrete and stone, as seen in his best-known design, the brutalist inverted ziggurat built in New York in 1966 as the home of the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Breuer’s most famous furniture pieces are those made of tubular steel, which include the Wassily chair — named after Wassily Kandinsky and recognizable for its leather-strap seating supports — and the caned Cesca chair.
Breuer also made several notable designs in molded plywood, including a chaise and nesting table for the British firm Isokon and a student furniture suite commissioned in 1938 for a dormitory at Bryn Mawr College. Whether in metal or wood, Breuer’s design objects are elegant and adaptable examples of classic modernist design — useful and appropriate in any environment.
Find vintage Marcel Breuer seating, storage cabinets and lighting on 1stDibs.
Thonet
For more than 180 years, Thonet — or Gebrüder Thonet — has produced elegant and durable tables and cabinets as well as chairs, stools and other seating that wholly blur the lines between art and design. Widely known as a trailblazer in the use of bentwood in furniture, the European manufacturer has reimagined the places in which we gather.
Noted for his skill in parquetry, German-Austrian company founder Michael Thonet received an invitation from Austrian Chancellor Prince Metternich to contribute Neo-Rococo interiors to the Liechtenstein City Palace in Vienna. The Boppard-born Thonet had honed his carpentry skills in his father’s workshop, where he carried out experiments with plywood and modified the Biedermeier chairs that populated the studio.
Thonet’s work for the chancellor raised his profile, and the cabinetmaker gained international recognition, including at London’s Great Exhibition of 1851, which featured works created by members of the Arts and Crafts movement as well as industrial products of the day. Thonet showed a range of furniture at the fair and won the bronze medal for his bentwood chairs. He incorporated his family’s company, the Thonet Brothers, with his sons in 1853.
Bentwood furniture dates as far back as the Middle Ages, but it is the 19th-century cabinetmaker Thonet who is most often associated with this now-classic technique. Thonet in 1856 patented a method for bending solid wood through the use of steam, and from there, the bentwood look skyrocketed to furniture fame. The works of renowned mid-century modern designers such as Alvar Aalto, Arne Jacobsen, and Charles and Ray Eames that put this technological advancement to use would not be as extensive or celebrated were it not for the efforts of the pioneering Thonet.
Considered the world’s oldest mass-produced chair, Michael Thonet’s ubiquitous Chair No. 14 demonstrated that his patented bentwood technology made it possible to efficiently produce furniture on an industrial scale. Now known as the 214, it won the German Sustainability Award Design for 2021, a recognition of the company’s commitment to environmentally responsible production.
Often called the Coffee House chair — the company’s first substantial order was for a Viennese coffeehouse — the No. 14 remains an icon. Thonet originally designed the chair in 1859, and it is considered the starting point for modern furniture.
The bentwood process opened doors — there were investments in machinery and new industrial processes, and the business began mass-producing furniture. By the end of the 1850s, there were additional Thonet workshops in Eastern Europe and hundreds of employees. Michael Thonet’s reputation attracted the attention of notable architects including Otto Wagner, Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
The No. 14 was followed by the No. 18, or the Bistro chair, in 1867, and the 209, or the Architect’s chair, of which Le Corbusier was a fan. (The influential Swiss-French architect and designer used Thonet furniture in his Pavillon de l’Esprit Nouveau at the 1925 International Exposition of Decorative Arts in Paris.)
Thonet’s chair designs also appeared in artwork by Toulouse-Lautrec, John Sloan and Henri Matisse in his Interior with a Violin Case. The noteworthy Thonet rocking chair remains a marvel of construction — in the middle of the 19th century, Michael produced a series of rockers in which the different curved parts were integrated into fluid, sinuous wholes. Thanks to Thonet, the humble rocker acquired something unexpected: style. It was captured in the paintings of Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and James Tissot.
Thonet is currently split into global divisions. Thonet Industries U.S.A. was acquired in 1987 by Shelby Williams and joined the CF Group in 1999, while the Thonet brand in Germany is owned by Thonet GmbH.
Find a collection of antique Thonet furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: The Hague, Netherlands
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Willy Daro brass side table Crane bird Bonsai 1970By Willy DaroLocated in The Hague, NLIntroducing the Willy Daro Brass Crane Side Table: A Fusion of Elegance and Nature! Elevate your living space with a piece crafted by the masterful hands of Willy Daro. This exquisi...Category
Vintage 1970s Belgian Hollywood Regency Side Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Coco Chanel sheaf of wheat side table- Hollywood Regency StyleBy Robert GoossensLocated in The Hague, NLThis sheaf of wheat side table named 'Coco Chanel' is just as elegant en stylish as she was. It caries her name because she had a 'wheat' table at home, just as Yves Saint Laurent. ...Category
Vintage 1970s French Hollywood Regency Side Tables
MaterialsGold Plate, Metal
- Mid- Century Modern Coffee Corner Side Table in Teak, 1950's SwedenBy Peter HvidtLocated in The Hague, NLMid- Century modern period corner side table or coffee table, made in 1950's period Sweden. The table is in a great vintage condition. Made of teak wood. Originally marked under the...Category
Vintage 1950s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsTeak
- Kai Kristiansen Teak Nesting Side Table Set Of 3 , 1960's DenmarkBy Kai KristiansenLocated in The Hague, NLVintage Danish design set of teak side tables designed by Kai Kristiansen. Stylish and practical by design, the tables easily slide in and out and make up little space if needed. A h...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Nesting Tables and Stacking Tables
MaterialsTeak
- 5x Hexagonal side tables by Peter Ghyzcy for Form + Life Collection, 1970.By Peter Ghyczy, Form + Life CollectionLocated in The Hague, NLVery rare and stunning set of 5 vintage 1970s space-age side tables produced by the German brand Form + Life Collection and designed by Peter Ghyczy in 1972. The tables are made of f...Category
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Nesting Tables and Stacking T...
MaterialsFiberglass
- Italian Black and brass 12 arm Spider Chandelier 1950sBy StilnovoLocated in The Hague, NLThe chandelier is in very good original condition. The brass surfaces are patinated, see picktures for condition. The black laquered lamp cups with fine enamel are in very good vinta...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Bauhaus console table Model B12 by Marcel Breuer for Thonet, 1930sBy Thonet, Marcel BreuerLocated in EVERDINGEN, NLA rare and iconic 1930s B12 console or side table, made from tubular steel and wood, designed by Marcel Breuer in 1928. This model is no longer in production. The distinctive feature...Category
Vintage 1930s German Bauhaus Console Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Mid Century "B12" Side Console Table by Marcel Breuer Produced by Thonet, 1930sBy Thonet, Marcel BreuerLocated in Stockholm, SEVery rare and early example of the "B12" mid century side console table in black stained wood with chromed tubular steel base by Marcel Breuer produced by Thonet, 1930s. In good orig...Category
Vintage 1930s German Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
MaterialsChrome
- Refinished B12 Side Table by Marcel Breuer, 1940sBy Marcel BreuerLocated in Żory, PLThis console table (mod. B12), was designed by Marcel Breuer in the 1930s. It features two shelfs supported by a chrome tubular steel frame. The wooden elements have been restored, ...Category
Vintage 1940s Czech Bauhaus Console Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Bauhaus tubular steel side table Thonet B 12 by Marcel BreuerBy Marcel BreuerLocated in PRAHA 5, CZA side table with a platform stretcher, Model No. B 12, designed by Marcel Breuer in 1928, manufactured under a Thonet licence by Robert Slezak c. 1930, chromium plated tubular steel construction, walnut veneered blockboard. Very good original condition. Lit.: Thonet tubular steel...Category
Vintage 1930s Czech Bauhaus Console Tables
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- Rare Bauhaus dining table Thonet B 14 by Marcel BreuerBy Marcel Breuer, ThonetLocated in PRAHA 5, CZThe Thonet B 14 table, designed by Marcel Breuer, is a classic piece of furniture known for its innovative use of tubular steel and geometric forms. It features a square wooden top s...Category
Vintage 1930s Austrian Bauhaus Dining Room Tables
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- After Marcel Breuer, a Bauhaus Style Side Table and Magazine HolderBy Marcel BreuerLocated in East Hampton, NYA design after Marcel Breuer with mesh hanging hammock for magazines and chrome trim.Category
Vintage 1950s Unknown Bauhaus Side Tables
MaterialsChrome