Box with woodcuts of Beethoven Houses, 12 sheets in original box by Joseph Hoffmann, n. d.

The painter Carl Moll (1861–1935) collaborated with Josef Hoffmann (1870–1956) to produce arts-and-crafts objects for the Wiener Werkstätte. It was founded in 1903 by Hoffmann and Koloman Moser (1868–1918) after the model of the British Arts and Crafts Movement with the goal of establishing an enterprise in which artists and artisans should collaborate to implement in reality and without compromise the idea of perfect design. The production included a range of high-quality and high-art objects, from furniture to jewelry and accessories, textiles and marbled papers. Crucial to this attempt was a style of manufacturing without labor division. Design and making were all in one hand. This case, decorated with marbled paper, is a piece that both artists worked on collaboratively. After great initial success, the company eventually got into financial trouble after the exodus of much of its affluent clientele for political reasons. In 1932, bankruptcy could no longer be staved off. Wiener Werkstätte products, however, have remained much in demand to this very day.

BL, 2021