Decorative Cork, undated

This decorative cork was designed by the co-founder of the Wiener Werkstätte, the architect and designer Josef Hoffmann (1870–1956), between 1910 and 1926. Decorative corks are meant to provide an ornate cover of the actual bottle cork, which is deemed too rustic. The real cork is screwed into a thread inside the decoration, which is then ready for use. Among the most famous of their kind are Hoffmann’s spherical decorative corks made from metal with a hammered decor – a surface treatment which was also used for the present object. Its complex, variegated form suggests that it hails from the 1910s or 20s. The design’s execution, using silver-plated metal, was carried out by the Wiener Werkstätte.

MR, 2023