Set of Six Art Deco Dining Chairs
Made by De Coene Freres
Courtrai, Belgium, circa 1930
Macassar ebony and walnut veneer on beechwood
34 H x 19 ½ SH x 17 ½ W x 18 ¾ D inches
De Coene Freres
Joseph Francois de Coene (1875-1950) was an entrepreneur from Courtrai, Belgium, who made a considerable contribution to the Flemish furniture arts. He was the eldest son of the upholsterer Adolphe de Coene and Coralie Tavernier, a painter from Ghent. In 1905, his brother Adolf and his brothers in law Arthur Deleu and Marcel Brunein joined the business, which they called De Coene Freres.
The destruction caused by the First World War resulted in a huge demand for furniture, and De Coene Freres capitalized on this need. In the 1920s, after touring fine furniture making work rooms in France and America, de Coene developed production techniques for laminated wood, mastering the sought after finished of the Art Deco style. De Coene participated in international exhibitions in Milan, Paris, and Brussels, and their innovation furniture received several prizes and medals. The De Coene furniture design and production factory was frequented leading artists and designers of the era, including Henry van de Velde, Marcel Breuer, Mies van der Rohe, Harry Bertoia, and Eero Saarinen.