A PAIR OF SOUTH WEST GERMAN EBONIZED OPEN ARMCHAIRS

During the Napoleonic wars Mainz was incorporated in France and thereby could take advantage of tax exemptions not available to other German cities. Its strategic position on the Rhine meant that transportation of bulk goods to and from Mainz was relatively easy. These conditions enabled Mainz to become one of the foremost centres of furniture production in Germany in the 19th century.

Kimbel and Bembé were two of the three most important cabinet makers in Mainz; the third being Johann Wolfgang Knussmann.
Cf H. Zinnkann, Mainzer Möbelschreiner der ersten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts, Frankfurt, 1985, pp. 137-150.