vase

Object NameFooted Vase

Designer Josef Hoffmann (Austrian, 1870-1956)

Maker(glass) probably Meyr’s Neffe Glassworks (1862-1922)

Retailer Wiener Werkstätte (1903-1932)

Made FromLead Glass

Date1916

TechniqueBlown into mold, ground, polished

SizeOverall H: 19.7 cm, Diam (max): 8.9 cm

Accession Number74.3.24 A

Curatorial Area(s)

Modern

Exhibitions

Glass of the Architects: Vienna, 1900-1937

The Tradition of the Avant-Garde: Bohemian Glass 1820-1935

Interpretive Notes

Web Text

The Viennese architect and designer Josef Hoffmann (1870-1956) deplored the poor quality of mass-produced objects. His preference for well-crafted everyday wares echoed the aims of the earlier Arts and Crafts movement in England. Hoffmann, who belonged to the avant-garde group of Austrian artists known as the Vienna Sezession, founded the Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna Workshop) in 1903. It produced all kinds of decorative arts, from jewelry to complete room decorations. Vienna’s Die Fledermaus (The Bat), designed by Hoffmann and others in 1907, is one of the Wiener Werkstätte’s most recognized interiors. Inspired by artistic cabarets in Paris and Munich, it promoted the Werkstätte’s design philosophy. In glass, Hoffmann’s work is characterized by simple, full forms and spare, usually geometric decoration. This set of glasses was probably made at Meyr’s Neffe, one of the Bohemian glassworks that fabricated the Wiener Werkstätte’s designs.

Place Made

Austria, Vienna; probably Bohemia, Vimperk (Adolf bei Winterberg)

Physical DescriptionFooted Vase. Transparent royal blue lead glass; blown into mold, rim and foot ground, polished. Tall vase with slightly flared rim tapering to slightly waisted cylindrical walls joined to low, wide hollow, slightly flared foot.
Provenance

Provenance Remark

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