Pair of Austrian Art Deco Lounge Chairs in Mahogany

Attributed to Moritz Hergesell for Anton Hergesell, pair of lounge chairs, mahogany, fabric, Austria, late 1920s

This pair of lounge chairs can likely be situated within the context of Viennese modern interior design of the late 1920s and bears strong stylistic affinities to the furniture designed by Moritz Anton Hergesell (1883-1955) and executed by the Vienna-based furniture manufacturer Anton Hergesell for the 1928 exhibition Die neuzeitliche Wohnung (“The Modern Home”) at the Österreichisches Museum für Kunst und Industrie (ÖMKI) in Vienna.

Organized at the ÖMKI — today the MAK, Vienna — Die neuzeitliche Wohnung formed part of the broader Central European discourse on modern living during the interwar years, presenting contemporary approaches to domestic furnishing and Austrian decorative arts production. The exhibition included a series of fully furnished interiors by architects and designers associated with Viennese modern design, among them Otto Prutscher, Hugo Gorge, Josef Hoffmann, and Moritz Hergesell. Recent scholarship has situated the exhibition within the broader discourse surrounding Viennese Wohnkultur in the interwar period, a design culture that maintained a close dialogue with craftsmanship, material richness, and the cultivated traditions of domestic comfort. Rather than embracing a purely industrial or radically reductionist aesthetic, many Viennese designers pursued a moderated modernism rooted in the traditions of domestic interior culture.

The present chairs embody precisely this synthesis. The structural frame remains visually legible while simultaneously functioning as a decorative compositional element. Their architectural construction is defined by a rigorously geometric exposed wooden framework composed of intersecting vertical and horizontal members that form an open lattice surrounding deeply upholstered cushions. The cubic structure, low horizontal stance, and integrated volumetric upholstery reflect the restrained but luxurious modernism characteristic of Vienna in the late 1920s. The precision of the joinery and the refinement with which the curved and rectilinear elements are resolved exemplify the high level of craftsmanship characteristic of traditional Viennese furniture production. Their design appears entirely consistent with the broader evolution of Viennese interwar modernism associated with figures such as Josef Frank, Oskar Strnad, and the Austrian Werkbund circle.