Skip Navigation

Rocking Chair, Model #1

Decorative Arts and Design

Michael Thonet (1796-1871)
Bentwood furniture, perhaps the most ubiquitous type of furniture worldwide, is indebted to the nineteenth-century innovations of Michael Thonet. Although the process—which involves steaming wood and bending it into curved shapes—had been used since ancient times to manufacture not only furniture but also wheels, barrels, and boat hulls, Thonet’s application of it in the 1830s was revolutionary. Thonet was the first designer to fuse the means of production and design to create superior products: his chairs were stronger, lighter, and less expensive than traditionally made ones. He was also a master of marketing, selling his designs through catalogues and an international chain of stores. He offered the same piece of furniture in different colors, and he produced pieces for adults, children, and even dolls (as seen here) to capture as much of the consumer market as possible.
MEDIUM Copper beech, leather
DATES Designed ca. 1860, manufactured ca. 1900
DIMENSIONS 39 1/4 x 22 1/2 x 45 in. (99.7 x 57.2 x 114.3 cm)  (show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER 69.79.1
CREDIT LINE Caroline A.L. Pratt Fund
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
CAPTION Michael Thonet (1796–1871). Rocking Chair, Model #1, Designed ca. 1860, manufactured ca. 1900. Copper beech, leather, 39 1/4 x 22 1/2 x 45 in. (99.7 x 57.2 x 114.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Caroline A.L. Pratt Fund, 69.79.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 69.79.1_threequarter_PS6.jpg)
IMAGE 69.79.1_threequarter_PS6.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2011
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
RECORD COMPLETENESS
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.
Michael Thonet (1796–1871). <em>Rocking Chair, Model #1</em>, Designed ca. 1860, manufactured ca. 1900. Copper beech, leather, 39 1/4 x 22 1/2 x 45 in. (99.7 x 57.2 x 114.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Caroline A.L. Pratt Fund, 69.79.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 69.79.1_threequarter_PS6.jpg)