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ONLINECOLLECTION

“Kakedose” for Gustav Klimt’s 50th birthday, 1912

Leopold Museum,
Vienna
Silver, gold-plated, ivory
18×15.1×12 cm

Artists

  • Eduard Josef Wimmer-Wisgrill

    (Vienna 1882–1961 Vienna)

  • Wiener Werkstätte (Alfred Mayer)
Currently on display at OG4
This silver cookie tin was designed in 1912 by the interior architect, designer, set decorator, fashion designer and painter Eduard Josef Wimmer-Wisgrill (1882–1961) for the Wiener Werkstätte. This multi-talented artist studied from 1901 to 1907 at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts under Josef Hoffmann (1870–1956), Koloman Moser (1868–1918) and Alfred Roller (1864–1935). For many years, he headed the Wiener Werkstätte’s fashion department. The design was executed by the silversmith Alfred Mayer. As can be inferred from the inscription, the tin was given to the painter Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) on his 50th birthday as a present by the Wiener Werkstätte. For the tin’s body, foot and lid, eight nearly trapezoid and triangular surfaces made from gold-plated silver were soldered together, with a bead-and-reel decoration as paneling along the edges. The repoussé ornaments depict floral and other vegetal shapes. The knob, by contrast, is made from turned ivory.

Object data

Artist/author
  • Design: Eduard Josef Wimmer-Wisgrill
  • Execution: Wiener Werkstätte (Alfred Mayer)
Title
“Kakedose” for Gustav Klimt’s 50th birthday
Date
1912
Art movement
Wiener Werkstätte, Art Nouveau
Category
Arts and crafts
Material​/technique
Silver, gold-plated, ivory
Dimensions
18×15.1×12 cm
Signature
Hallmarks: rose mark, WW monogram, EJW, AM, alloy hallmark, badge; inscription: ZUM FÜNFZIGSTEN GEBURTSTAG DIE WIENER WERKSTÄTTE WIEN 14.7.1912 [on your 50th birthday from the Wiener Werkstätte]
Credit line of the permanent loan
ARGE Collection Gustav Klimt
Keywords

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Provenance

Provenance research
Leopold Museum i

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