Important 20th Century Design 
3 December 2006
Important 20th Century Design 
111

Otto Wagner

armchair from the board room at the Postparkasse

Thonet
Austria, 1906
stained beech wood, aluminum, upholstery 31 h × 21¾ w × 23¼ d in (79 × 55 × 59 cm)
estimate: $15,000–20,000
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Vienna's Postparkasse, or Post Office Savings Bank, is Otto Wagner's most important public commission and a landmark of modern architecture. This project illustrates Wagner’s pioneering use of aluminum as a new and modern material in architecture and design. Produced in a small series exclusively for the board room of the Post Office Savings Bank, this armchair utilizes aluminum both as a durable material for everyday use, and as a detail that fuses the design with overall architectural concept. Signed with manufacturer's paper label to underside: [Thonet Wien] and stamped: [Thonet].
literature: Otto Wagner: 1841-1918, Geretsegger and Peintner, pg. 177 Aluminum by Design, Nichols, ppg. 202-203

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