Bentwood

Bentwood objects are made by wetting wood (either by soaking or by steaming), then bending it and letting it harden into curved shapes and patterns.

No. 14 chair

Cradle by Gebrüder Thonet (ca. 1870)

Furniture-makers often use this method in the production of rocking chairs, cafe chairs, and other light furniture. The iconic No. 14 chair (also known as the "Vienna chair"), developed in the 1850s in the Austrian Empire by Thonet, is a well-known design based on the technique.^[1] The process is in widespread use for making casual and informal furniture of all types, particularly seating and table forms. It is also a popular technique in the worldwide production of furniture with frames made of heavy cane, which is commonly imported into European and Western shops.

A red cedar Tsimshian bentwood box dating from the 1880s, on display at the UBC Museum of Anthropology

Bentwood boxes are a traditional item made by the First Nations people of the North American west coast including the Haida, Gitxsan, Tlingit, Tsimshian, Sugpiaq, Unangax, Yup'ik, Inupiaq and Coast Salish. These boxes are generally made out of one piece of wood that is steamed and bent to form a box. Traditional uses of the boxes varied - they included storage of food goods and of clothing, and for burial. They were often without decoration while others were decorated elaborately. Today many are made for collectors and can be purchased from museums, gift shops and online sites as well as directly commissioned from the artists.^[2][3][4][5]

The Aleut or Unangan people of Alaska made hunting visors, called chagudax, out of driftwood using the bentwood method. Hunters in kayaks used the visors - they are said to help keep sea spray off the face as well as to improve hearing. They were often decorated with paints, beads, sea-lion whiskers and ivory figurines. Andrew Gronholdt revived the art of chagudax in the 1980s.^[6] Present-day Unangan artists create chagudax for ceremonial purposes and offer them for sale to the public as well.^[7][8]

See also

• Ercol
• Lucian Ercolani
• Twig work
• First Nations art
• Shaker-style pantry box
• Steam bending

References

1. Postell, Jim (6 November 2012). "Furniture Case Studies: 1855-1859 Cafe chair, Model No. 14". Furniture Design (2 ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 84–85. ISBN 9781118090787. Retrieved 9 September 2024. [...] the bentwood technique was utilized because sea travel and exposure to the elements during transportation caused delamination to occur. [...] Using steam-bending techniques, the leg supports and seat back were made from solid beech wood and the seat frame was made from laminated wood. [...] Model No. 14 was an ideal café chair for the coffeehouses and cafés emerging throughout Europe and America. It was called the Vienna chair after the Viennese coffeehouses, where it first came into use.
2. "Treasures Gallery - Bentwood storage boxes". Canadian Museum of Civilization. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
3. "Haida Gwaii … "Islands of the People"". Haida Heritage Centre. 2010-09-15. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
4. "Collection Online: Bentwood". Museum of Anthropology at UBC. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
5. George MacDonald (1996). Haida Art. University of Washington Press.
6. Chadwick, Jerah (September–October 1998). "Revival of Unangaˆx/Aleut Hatmaking: In Memory of Andrew Gronholdt" (PDF). Sharing Our Pathways: A Newsletter of the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative. 3 (4). Fairbanks, Alaska: University of Alaska Fairbanks: 12–13. Retrieved 9 September 2024. Prominent among contemporary bentwood artists was Andrew Gronholdt, who died in March, 1998 at the age of 82. A Qagan Tayaguˆx (Man of the Eastern Aleutians) from the Shumagin Islands, Gronholdt is largely responsible for the revival of hatmaking in the Aleutians. [...] Gronholdt began researching construction methods in 1985 [...]. [...] As a result of Gronholdt's work, a new generation of Unangaˆx people have been inspired to create their own visors and hats.
7. "Alaska Native Collections Smithsonian Institution". Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
8. "Ancient Aleut Art of Making Bentwood Visors Showcased at Anchorage Museum". Archived from the original on 21 July 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2012.

External links

• AllWoodwork.com – Methods of Bending Wood
• FineWoodWorking.com – Skills and Techniques
• Taylor's Classics – The History and Popularity of Bentwood Furniture
• Thillmann Collection: The world's largest private collection of Thonet and bentwood furniture
• Woodweb.com – Rx For Bending Wood: Dr. Gene Wengert offers advice on bending solid lumber in production applications