Mass production of chairs started in the 19th century, when Western European manufacturers began to apply the technology of steam processing of wood. Viennese furniture maker Michael Thonet had introduced the innovation in the wood processing. It allowed to produce the so-called "bent", or Viennese, chairs. Such aesthetic and functional chairs have begun to be used in cinemas, shops and schools.
The bentwood chair with ornamented seat, represented at the exhibition, was produced in the Russian Empire in the late 19th - early 20th centuries.
