Draft for a Samovar

The MAK is in possession of the entire archives of the Wiener Werkstätte (WW), founded in 1903 by Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser together with the financier Fritz Waerndorfer. Its establishment is a reaction towards prevailing mass production and the imitation of styles as well as a return to traditional craftwork. In this archive the production process is documented comprehensibly from the first design sketch to the finished object. A draft by Josef Hoffmann for a teapot with a cap and a burner (samovar) exemplifies the collection. The décor of the teapot is made of coral, the knob on the lid of ebony, and the handle of leather. On the elevation drawing you can nicely recognize the stamp S 81 of the WW in the top left corner: in the model book for silver works of the WW this stamp provides information about the designer, the material used, costs of the material, wages, and finally also about the buyer of the object. The draft for this samovar is part of an entire tea set, which today is displayed in the original in the MAK Permanent Collection Vienna 1900.