Object Description
Circa 1900. A rare set of 17 bentwood chairs, with a makers label beneath. The curved top rail with a bentwood loop beneath, on two sturdy and stout turned uprights, the shaped seat with a wonderful pattern is braced to the back by two small curved sections at the side, with a simple seat rail supporting the four turned legs with a conforming circular stretchers, the chairs have the makers label ‘Mundus & JJ Kohn’ to the underside.
Jacob Kohn (1791-1868) and his son Josef Kohn (1818-1884) of Vienna (Wien) Austria founded a company (known as J. & J. Kohn) that made wooden parts for buildings in 1849. Around 1867, the company began making furniture and started factories in many cities. In 1914 the company merged with Mundus, a holding company in Vienna, and became Kohn-Mundus. Kohn-Mundus merged with Thonet in 1922. Internationally acclaimed furniture makers, works by Jacob and Josef Kohn can be found today in the Museum of Modern Art and Disseny Hub Barcelona