Details
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Details of object number: 0285
Object name:chair
Created by:Mundus AG Bugholzmöbelfabriken (Produzent/in)
Production date:1907 — 1921
Description:Bentwood chair: seat and backrest panel with marquetry. Undecorated seat (replacement); symmetrical floral decoration of lilies, daffodils, tulips and daisies on both backrest panels. On the underside is a sticker: “(double eagle) MUNDUS / VIENNA / AUSTRIA / REGISTRIERTE SCHUTZMARKE / REGISTERED TR(ADEMARK)”, a “P” stamped in black and “A.N.D.” stamped in brown, with the brand mark “MUNDUS” on the inside of the frame.
Hist. crit. notes:Bentwood furniture was a figurehead and symbol of the classic Art Nouveau era at the beginning of the 20th century. Although, as early as 1830, Michael Thonet had developed a method of using steam to bend beechwood in order to make seating, such furniture only became widespread from 1869 on once Thonet’s patent for bentwood furniture expired and other manufacturers established themselves on the market.
This was particularly the case at the turn of the last century with the rise of Art Nouveau, whose proponents dreamed of the Gesamtkunstwerk, the “total work of art”. Art was to infuse all aspects of everyday life; everyday objects were to equal artworks in value. As a result, everyday items were produced according to artistic designs, which ultimately gave rise to the idea of modern design. Furniture makers such as Thonet, Jacob & Josef Kohn and Mundus all employed leading artists such as Josef Hoffmann, Adolf Loos and Otto Wagner.
The Austrian firm of Mundus AG came into being on 15 July 1907 as the result of a merger between several small producers of bentwood furniture. Like its competitors, the company labelled its products with paper labels and embossed stamps. Leading manufacturers opened sales outlets in all of the world’s major cities. In 1914 Mundus acquired the majority of shares in the Kohn company and, in 1922, the company finally merged with the Thonet empire and Thonet-Mundus AG was created as a group, with 20 production sites and over 10,000 employees.
After Art Nouveau was supplanted by Art Deco from the 1920s onwards, Art Nouveau furniture was increasingly cast off by wealthy households and subsequently also found use as antiques in humbler establishments in South Tyrol.
This was particularly the case at the turn of the last century with the rise of Art Nouveau, whose proponents dreamed of the Gesamtkunstwerk, the “total work of art”. Art was to infuse all aspects of everyday life; everyday objects were to equal artworks in value. As a result, everyday items were produced according to artistic designs, which ultimately gave rise to the idea of modern design. Furniture makers such as Thonet, Jacob & Josef Kohn and Mundus all employed leading artists such as Josef Hoffmann, Adolf Loos and Otto Wagner.
The Austrian firm of Mundus AG came into being on 15 July 1907 as the result of a merger between several small producers of bentwood furniture. Like its competitors, the company labelled its products with paper labels and embossed stamps. Leading manufacturers opened sales outlets in all of the world’s major cities. In 1914 Mundus acquired the majority of shares in the Kohn company and, in 1922, the company finally merged with the Thonet empire and Thonet-Mundus AG was created as a group, with 20 production sites and over 10,000 employees.
After Art Nouveau was supplanted by Art Deco from the 1920s onwards, Art Nouveau furniture was increasingly cast off by wealthy households and subsequently also found use as antiques in humbler establishments in South Tyrol.
Material:wood
Technique:dampfgebogen
Dimensions:
- height: 92 cm
Physical description:Holz, Bugholz, Marketerie
Institution:Museum of Popular Culture
Inscription:Type: logo
Position: Unterseite
Method: geklebt (Aufkleber)
Content: (Doppeladler) MUNDUS / VIENNA / AUSTRIA / (Registrierte Schutzmarke) Tr(ademark)
Type: stamp
Position: Unterseite
Method: gestempelt (schwarz und braun)
Content: P; A.N.D.
Type: logo
Position: Innenseite Zarge
Method: gebrannt
Content: MUNDUS
Position: Unterseite
Method: geklebt (Aufkleber)
Content: (Doppeladler) MUNDUS / VIENNA / AUSTRIA / (Registrierte Schutzmarke) Tr(ademark)
Type: stamp
Position: Unterseite
Method: gestempelt (schwarz und braun)
Content: P; A.N.D.
Type: logo
Position: Innenseite Zarge
Method: gebrannt
Content: MUNDUS
Related object(s):0263 a