Lot 93

Josef Hoffmann (1870 - 1956) A SET OF THREE VASES "ZAHNSTOCHERBEHÄLTER"

The violet vases, or "Zahnstocherbehälter" (toothpick holders), come from the Wiener Werkstätte workshops and were designed by Josef Hoffmann, a co-founding member of the workshops, decorator, and architect, whose interiors Wiener Werkstätte supplied. The products were created through the joint efforts of the country's best designers using the latest technology. The workshops were attentive to the work's quality and exciting detail. They tried to do away with excess ornamentation and to give prominence to simple forms and the quality of the material. The vases on offer have the geometric decor characteristic of the Viennese workshops. On the upper footmark: Diana’s head silver purity hallmark and the mark WW (Wiener Werkstätte). The glass inside the vases is missing. Literature: cf MAK, Vienna, Wiener Werkstätte Archive: inventory number: WWF 94-62-3; cf 'Zahnstocherbehälter' by Koloman Moser and Josef Hoffmann, inventory number: WWF 97-8-10; cf Huey, Price, Seipel, Wiener Silber, Modernes Design, p. 331, no. 180.