JOSEF HOFFMANN
| About the artist | Brtnice 1870 – 1956 Vienna |
| Designed by | Josef Hoffmann attr., Vienna, around 1904 |
| Executed by | Wiener Werkstätte |
| Dimensions | H 60 cm, W 45 cm, D 45 cm Open: W 85 cm, D 45 cm Tray: H 2 cm, W 43 cm, D 43 cm |
| Material | Solid oak and veneer, ebonized, limed, surface slightly cleaned, small retouches, very good original condition |
| Provenance | estate of Leopold Blauensteiner |
| Literature | Comp. Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration, 1906, p.157 |
Also this table clearly bears the hallmarks of Josef Hoffmann. Hoffmann and Koloman Moser consistently used the characteristic formal features displayed by our table for stools, side tables and drawing room tables.
The table’s design is based on a square table plate carried by square legs and cross struts. On top of the plate sits a square removable tray. The aprons are 25 cm high and can be unfolded and locked. The small additional rest table thus created enabled each of the children playing at this table to also have a small table of their own. Liming was favoured by Moser and Hoffmann as surface finishing in the early stages of Wiener Werkstätte.
When closed, this table radiates archaic serenity. As soon as the aprons have been unfolded, it seems to shed off its weight and start to float.
The table forms part of the estate of Leopold Blauensteiner, who, according to his heirs, acquired it for his children.
M30/18
