Sugar bowl Josef Hoffmann Wiener Werkstatte ca. 1910

Josef Hoffmann, co-founder of the Wiener Werkstätte, was an extremely productive and versatile designer. In his designs, he was striving for a strong reduction of form to the essential. This is how his characteristic geometric style was established. The scope of his designs ranges from entire interiors, following the concept of the “Gesamtkunstwerk” (total work of art), to small details of everyday life.

This elegant sugar bowl, part of a tea service, also follows this credo. A simple decoration known as “Perlschnur” (string of pearls) around the spherical handle serves as the only ornament. The highly qualitative object consists of beaten white brass and is mirror-polished on the outside. Lid and box flow harmoniously into each other as if they were one.