Miniature Rocking Chair No.9

For over two decades, the Vitra Design Museum has been making miniature replicas of milestones in furniture design from its collection. The Miniatures Collection encapsulates the entire history of industrial furniture design.  Exactly one-sixth the size of the historical originals, the chairs are all true to scale and precisely recreate the smallest details of construction, material and colour. The high standard of authenticity even extends to the natural grain of the wood, the reproduction of screws and the elaborate handicraft techniques involved. This has made the miniatures into popular collector's items as well as ideal illustrative material for universities, design schools and architects.

Around 1882 the firm of Jacob & Josef Kohn put a model onto the market which differentiated distinctly from earlier rocking chairs. A double loop, which clearly stands out against the framework, unites the supporting functions on either side. As a result of the back-leg-like supports of the prototypes like the Thonet rocking chair being replaced by a smaller bentwood loop at the back, the construction of the chair takes on an elegant and weightless appearance.