On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Jardiniere

ca.1906 (designed and 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

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Iron pierced and folded.
Brief description
Jardiniere, iron, Vienna, ca.1906, designed by Koloman Moser.
Physical description
Jardiniere, iron, the sides of the vessel regularly undulate, forming when viewed, edge on, eight crests and eight corresponding depressions. The upper edge is rolled over providing a reinforced rim. The sides are perforated with small rectangular slots with curved ends, arranged in a sequence of eight regular rows down the entire side of the vessel. The base is a flat sheet of metal edges corresponding to the undulating sides. The vessel is supported on four spherical feet finished in electroplated silver and placed at regular intervals around the edge.
Dimensions
  • Height: 20.5cm
  • Width: 20.5cm (Note: maximum)
Style
Production typesmall batch
Gallery label
(2021)
A co-operative for art and industry

Founded in Vienna in 1903, the Wiener Werkstätte was a co-operative of artists and craftspeople who created experimental designs, usually by hand, using new technical innovations and industrial materials. The geometric-patterned plant pot and table and the plain cutlery are characteristic of their work. Architect and designer Josef Hoffman co-founded the Werkstätte with artist Koloman Moser and with the support of industrialist Fritz Wärndorfer. The light and airy workshops provided good working conditions and the company pioneered paid holidays.

Punched metal plant pot
1905–10
Designed by Koloman Moser
Made by the Wiener Werkstätte, Austria-Hungary (now Austria)
Pierced and folded iron
Museum no. M.18-1982

Punched metal table
1910
Designed by Josef Hoffmann
Made by the Wiener Werkstätte, Austria-Hungary (now Austria)
Enameled and folded zinc
Museum no. M.8-1982

Cutlery set
1907
Designed by Josef Hoffmann for the Cabaret Fledermaus
Made by the Wiener Werkstätte, Austria-Hungary (now Austria)
Electroplated nickel silver
Museum no. M.10 to F-1982

The object sits in the 'Automation and Labour' section of the Design 1900-Now gallery opened in June 2021.
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'.
Collection
Accession number
M.18-1982

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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