Not currently on display at the V&A

Cake Basket

1905 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Josef Hoffmann studied architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna under Carl von Hasenauer and Otto Wagner and was influenced by their theories of a functional, modernist architecture. After winning the Rome prize in 1895 and joining Wagner's office, he established his own office in 1898 and taught at the Vienna Kunstgewerbeschule from 1899 to 1936. He was a founding member of the Vienna Secession, an avant-garde group of artists and architects. In 1903 he founded the Wiener Werkstätte with Koloman Moser. Hoffmann's earliest works reflect the Vienna Secession's variant of Art Nouveau and his later work shows a pioneering use of geometric and abstract design. His most famous building, the Palais Stoclet in Brussels, built 1905-1911, exemplifies the ideal of the 'Gesamtkunstwerk' or 'total work of art'.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Iron painted white
Brief description
Iron cake basket with handle, painted white, designed by Josef Hoffmann and made by the Weiner Werkstatte, 1905.
Physical description
The base of the cake basket is a circular disc of sheet metal. The narrow rim is at right angles to the base and is pierced with three rows of square perforations forming a lattice work pattern. The handle is hoop shaped and is attached to the rim on opposite sides. It is pierced with two rows of square perforations, continuing the lattice work pattern of the rim. All external edges are rolled over and reinforced with wire. The cake basket is painted white.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 15.6cm
  • Height: 13.5cm
Marks and inscriptions
The stamp for the Wiener Werkstatte has been applied twice to the underside of the base.
Summary
Josef Hoffmann studied architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna under Carl von Hasenauer and Otto Wagner and was influenced by their theories of a functional, modernist architecture. After winning the Rome prize in 1895 and joining Wagner's office, he established his own office in 1898 and taught at the Vienna Kunstgewerbeschule from 1899 to 1936. He was a founding member of the Vienna Secession, an avant-garde group of artists and architects. In 1903 he founded the Wiener Werkstätte with Koloman Moser. Hoffmann's earliest works reflect the Vienna Secession's variant of Art Nouveau and his later work shows a pioneering use of geometric and abstract design. His most famous building, the Palais Stoclet in Brussels, built 1905-1911, exemplifies the ideal of the 'Gesamtkunstwerk' or 'total work of art'.
Bibliographic reference
Moderne Vergangenheit, p. 320, ill., cat. no. 258.
Collection
Accession number
M.12-1982

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Record createdAugust 8, 2007
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