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Menagerie

Josef Hoffmann (Austrian (born in Pirnitz, Moravia), 1870–1956)
Michael Powolny (Austrian, 1871–1954)
J. & L. Lobmeyr (Vienna, active 1823–present)
about 1913
Medium/TechniqueGlass with frosted and bronzite decoration
DimensionsOverall (h x Diameter): 18.7 x 7.9 cm (7 3/8 x 3 1/8 in.)
Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds donated by Frances H. Colburn in honor of Alan Shestack
Accession number1993.629
On View
Not on view
ClassificationsGlass
Collections
Description
No glass was produced at the Wiener Werkstätte; instead, designs were sent to manufacturers in Bohemia. These glasses are decorated with a continuous scene in a frosted and "bronzite" finish. Bronzite is a costly, labor-intensive technique in which glass is coated with a metallic alloy that is subsequently acid etched to create the pattern. The style of the patterns here-strong contrasts of silhouettes within panels-had become synonymous with the Wiener Werkstätte. The self-consciously naïve depiction of animals reveals the interest in folk art shared by many Werkstätte designers.
Provenance1993, sold by Pruskin Gallery, London, to the MFA. (Accession Date: October 27, 1993)
Ape walking
Josef Hoffmann
about 1911
Group shot: 2017.4001.1-2
Josef Hoffmann
Designed in 1917, produced around 1946-47
Group shot: 2017.4001.1-2
Josef Hoffmann
Designed in 1917, produced around 1945-55
"Givre" vase
André Hunebelle
about 1920-30
Bottle vase
1736–95
Vase
Gaston Hoffmann
about 1919
Cylindrical vase
19th century
Teapot
Josef Hoffmann
1904