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ONLINECOLLECTION

War Glass, 1915

Leopold Museum,
Vienna
Glass, enamel colors
9.2×8 x 8 cm

Artists

  • Josef Hoffmann

    (Pirnitz 1870–1956 Vienna)

  • Helene Gabler

    (Vienna 1897–[?])

  • Joh. Oertel & Co.
  • Wiener Werkstätte
Unfortunately not on display at the moment
With the outbreak of World War I, the Wiener Werkstätte and its associated production facilities faced personnel shortages and sales problems. Among their compensation efforts was the production of war glasses, which proved especially successful as the ministry of public works requested in 1915 that artists “express the patriotic purpose” in their works; in February of that year, an exhibition of “war memorabilia” had been held at the Austrian Museum of Art and Industry. In the case of plain, cylindrical drinking glasses, the decoration consisted of linear enamel colors, often representing the colors of the flags of the allied Central Powers. In the present example, oversized flags of Austria and Germany are depicted blowing in the wind in front of a castle, which likely represents the stability of the alliance. The surface of the glass is covered in a yellow-green lattice pattern, while the edges are highlighted with black stripes.

Object data

Artist/author
  • Design Shape: Josef Hoffmann
  • Design Decor: Helene Gabler
  • Execution: Joh. Oertel & Co.
  • for the: Wiener Werkstätte
Title
War Glass
Date
1915
Art movement
Wiener Werkstätte
Category
Arts and crafts
Material​/technique
Glass, enamel colors
Dimensions
9.2×8 x 8 cm
Credit line of the permanent loan
Ernst Ploil, Vienna
Selection of Reference works
  • Wien 1900. Aufbruch in die Moderne, hrsg. von Hans-Peter Wipplinger, Wien 2019 (Ausst.-Kat. Leopold Museum, Wien, ab 15.03.2019).
Keywords

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Provenance

Provenance research
Leopold Museum i

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