20th-Century Art Deco Crystal Vase with Silver-Plated Metal Stand attributed to Josef Franz Maria Hoffmann for the Wiener Werkstätte, Austria, 1920s

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Description

Item description:
a gorgeous cylindrical crystal vase, entirely hand-decorated with diamond-point engraving, featuring two linear and semicircular garlands with two … Read more Item description:
a gorgeous cylindrical crystal vase, entirely hand-decorated with diamond-point engraving, featuring two linear and semicircular garlands with two tassels at the ends. It comes with a basket-shaped, two-handled glass made of silver-plated reticulated metal, which supports it and is also embellished with a series of bas-relief decorations. A stylized fir tree, the tree usually used at christmas, is present inside the two oval windows on the two sides of the cup. At the top, there are two chains, one on each side, ending with two large tassels. The handles are rectangular and square, with two oval windows in the center, entirely framed in bas-relief. The lower edge of the glass is entirely scalloped and there are two pairs of feet of different sizes, one pair trapezoidal in shape and the other bridge-shaped. The mouth of the basket, on the other hand, is smooth and straight, and finally, among the various squares of the latticework, there are small buttons in bas-relief. Both the basket and the fine crystal glass are unsigned, but can easily be attributed to the austrian manufacturer wiener werkstatte. In our opinion, the authorship of this vase can be attributed to josef hoffmann, one of the founders and leading exponents of the manufacturer. The object is made in full art deco style and can be dated to the early decades of the 20th century, between 1910 and 1930, and the beautiful patina covering the object is perfectly in line with our dating.

useful information for evaluating the item:
our web research shows that the highest four auction results achieved by josef hoffmann in the furniture category range from €112,000 to over €122,000, while in the objects category, they range from €160,000 to €267,000, which gives an idea of the importance of this artist. Finally, to support our attribution, we have found a series of objects very similar to ours, all made by hoffmann, again with small metal baskets worked into a lattice pattern, with more or less elaborate decorations and square handles, some with a crystal glass inside, often decorated by hand with engraved decorations, like ours, many are unsigned and only attributed to hoffmann, like our object, all quoted or sold at very high prices, ranging from €1,500 to over €5,000. In particular, one sold for €2,800 plus fees at the dorotheum auction in november 2021, entitled "henkelschole," lot no. 10, and another sold by christie's for €1,619 plus fees at auction on december 13, 2019, lot no. 90 entitled "butter dish m 0216 (c.1904)", to give a more accurate idea of the value of items similar to ours.

information about the artist and/or manufacturer:
josef franz maria hoffmann (brtnice, 1870 – vienna, 1956) was one of austria's leading architects, active between the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. Hoffmann is considered one of the greatest ceramists and artists of the viennese secession. He founded the wiener werkstatte together with koloman moser and absorbed michael powolny's wiener keramik, with whom he collaborated for many decades. In 1987, the museum für angewandte kunst (mak) in vienna organized an exhibition in his honor. The museum still has a permanent exhibition of his works and also organizes special exhibitions on the architect and his contemporaries.


this piece is attributed to the mentioned designer/maker. It has no attribution mark and no
official proof of authenticity,
however it is well documented in design history. I take full responsibility for any authenticity



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