Berlin 1828/1830, for the workshop of Karl Wanschaff or Christian Sewening, Berlin, 1828–30, solid mahogany and mahogany veneered frame on four legs, inlaid veins and palmette ornaments in maple, oak borders, woven cane, punched mark “IIII”; fragment of an inventory label (19th c.): “Vol I/Pague 269/No 19”; inventory label (20th c.): “H. Thiele. SW 29: Fichtestr. 2”, height approx. 86 cm, width approx. 46 cm, depth approx. 53 cm (MHA). Besides Christopher Dresser und Michael Thonet, Karl Friedrich Schinkel is considered a leading pioneer of mass production at the dawn of industrial design. The chair was probably part of a set of twenty-four chairs made for Cumberland Palace, the residence of Ernest August of Hanover, Duke of Cumberland. This provenance is corroborated by a sketch of the chair by Georg Ludwig Friedrich Laves (1788–1864) that was probably made when he visited the palace in 1832. A drawing of this chair made by Ludwig Lohde, one of Schinkel’s collaborators, is preserved at the Berlin Prints and Drawings Room (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin). The present chair is one of five known examples coming from the private collection of Heinrich Thiele. The design is based on the classically Greek form of a chair, with a square seat on twisted front legs and more unobtrusive cabriole legs at the back. The delicate curve of the rear legs is mirrored in reversed and fluted struts ending in scroll terminals and describing the outline of a bow when viewed from the side.

Provenance:
Probably part of a set of twenty-four salon chairs made for Cumberland Palace, No. 70 Wilhelmstraße, the Berlin country estate and residence of Prince Ernest August of Hanover, Duke of Cumberland and Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg – private collection of Heinrich Thiele

Exhibited:
Karl Friedrich Schinkel: Zwei Salonstühle Berlin 1828/30, Galerie Ulrich Fiedler, Berlin, 17 September – 22 October 2013

Lit.:
Karl Friedrich Schinkel: Zwei Salonstühle Berlin 1828/30, exh. cat., Galerie Ulrich Fiedler, Berlin 2013, passim (reproductions and drawings) With a comprehensive certificate issued by Dr. Achim Stiegel, art historian, Berlin