Fruit Basket
1904 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The architect Josef Hoffmann, one of the founders of the Wiener Werkstatte in 1903, was also one of the principal designers of metal work produced in the workshops. His geometrical designs in silver, of which this fruit basket is an outstanding example, date primarily from the early years of the Wiener Werkstatte.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silver, hammered and raised |
| Brief description | Fruit Basket, silver, Josef Hoffmann, Wiener Werkstätte, Austria, 1904. |
| Physical description | Silver. The basket rises from a small square base, supported below and on two sides by two parallel strips of metal, joined at intervals by a row of pellets, which finally form a rectangle whose width is determined by the splayed square of the rim. Further strips of metal flank the base at right angles to the rectangle, rising in bars to the rim of the basket; two of these bars project beyond the rim at each side and are joined at the top with a row of pellets. The marks of the Wiener Werkstätte, Josef Hoffmann and the maker are stamped on the underside of the basket. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | The monogram of the Wiener Werkstatte and that of the craftsman who made the piece, and the mark denoting first quality silver (1904) |
| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Formerly in the collection of Charles and Lavinia Handley-Read. |
| Object history | Previously in the Handley-Read Collection "Acquisition RF: 1970/3528 Purchased from Thomas Stainton Josef Hoffmann studied architecture in Munich and Vienna where he was briefly a pupil of Otto Wagner, the architect in charge of the Vienna Stadtbahnn project. In 1897, Hoffman joined the Vienna Secession led by the painter Gustav Klimt. In 1899, Hoffman was appointed Professor of Architecture at the Vienna Academy of Applied Arts; a post he held until 1941. In 1903, Hoffman visited England with Koloman Moser. Inspired by the example of Ashbee's Guild of Handicraft and supported by the wealthy businessman, Fritz Warndoffer, Hoffman and Moser founded the Wiener Werkstätte the following year. Moser left in 1905 but Hoffman remained associated with the Werkstätte until 1931. At first Hoffman's metalwork for the Werkstätte was severely rectinlinear, owing much to the Scottish architect, CR Mackintosh but towards the 1920s, Hoffman turned to a much more curvilinear style which was in marked contrast to his earlier manner. " |
| Summary | The architect Josef Hoffmann, one of the founders of the Wiener Werkstatte in 1903, was also one of the principal designers of metal work produced in the workshops. His geometrical designs in silver, of which this fruit basket is an outstanding example, date primarily from the early years of the Wiener Werkstatte. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.40-1972 |
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| Record created | December 16, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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