Born from the Vienna Secession art movement in Austria during the early 20th century, the Wiener Werkstätte helped to cement Art Nouveau style and culture in Viennese art. Wiener Werkstätte furniture included armchairs, cabinets and table lamps, with production extending to other crafts such as ceramics, jewelry and fashion. The Werkstätte also boasted a large graphic arts department, which created nearly 1,000 unique postcards during the organization’s run.
Austrian architect Josef Hoffmann, painter Koloman Moser and industrialist Fritz Waerndorfer established the collective in opposition to the dominant trends in Viennese art. The artistic community was then largely directed by the Association of Austrian Artists, which had firm control over the creation and distribution of Austrian art. The collective’s style pushed back against traditional artistic preferences, instead favoring clear, bold lines and often-exaggerated, vibrant colors.
Employing over 100 people, including several master craftsmen, the Werkstätte formed relationships and alliances with a number of firms and stores, which sold and commissioned new work from the workshop.
As the Wiener Werkstätte’s mission aligned with emerging British sensibilities regarding art, many British artists worked closely with the collective. Some major Austrian artists collaborated with the collective, without officially joining, such as painter Gustav Klimt.
The Werkstätte’s artistic range was extensive and eclectic, with the organization producing a wide variety of furniture. In 1932, the global economic collapse forced it to shut down. With the outbreak of WWII soon to follow, the Wiener Werkstätte never reopened. Its legacy lived on, however, in the numerous artists and craftspeople who carried forward its commitment to progressive cultural and creative endeavors.
On 1stDibs, find antique Wiener Werkstätte lighting, seating and storage pieces.
Brass Tray Josef Hoffmann Wiener Werkstatte Austrian Jugendstil circa 1915
By Josef Hoffmann, Wiener Werkstätte
Located in Klosterneuburg, AT
Brass tray Josef Hoffmann Wiener Werkstatte ca. 1915 marked Austrian Jugendstil Josef Hoffmann was one of the leading designers of the Wiener Werkstatte...
Brass
$1,488 / item
H 2.37 in W 20.48 in D 12.6 in
Évora Serving Tray, Sahara Noir Marble and Brass, Organic Shape
By Greenapple, Lusitanus Home
Located in Lisboa, PT
Évora is a serving tray cut from a single slab of Sahara Noir marble in a soft teardrop outline, rounded at one end and drawn to a point at the other, with rails of brass that rise o...
Marble, Brass
$764Sale Price|30% Off
H 1.97 in W 21.07 in D 8.67 in
French Decorative Ceramic Tray by Albert Thiry 'circa 1960s'
By Albert Thiry
Located in London, GB
Mid-century decorative tray (circa 1960s) by Albert Thiry. A chalk-white glaze provides the background for a colourful thistle motif in the centre. The rim has touches of earthy gree...
Ceramic
$2,748 / item
H 4.73 in Dm 3.94 in
Set of 6 Champagne Coupes "Series B" by Josef Hoffmann for Wiener Werkstätte
By Josef Hoffmann, J.L Lobmeyr
Located in Beograd, RS
Masterpiece of early modernity! The lead-free crystal Champagne Coupes "Series B" designed by Josef Hoffmann for Wiener Werkstätte in 1912. Available 2 sets of 6 pieces. Listed price...
Crystal
Wedgwood Majolica Tray, circa 1907
By Wedgewood
Located in High Point, NC
Wedgwood green Majolica tray in the form of a leaf and basket design with a handle. Impressed mark on the back.
Porcelain
French Double Headed Dragon Tray circa 1910
Located in CA, CA
A beautiful hand carved double headed dragon tray with curved edges and two raised handles in the form of a dragon tail, the tail detailed with carved scal...
Wood
$20,000
H 9.75 in W 4 in D 5 in
Rare Silver Vase with Glass Insert by Josef Hoffmann for Wiener Werkstätte
By Josef Hoffmann, Wiener Werkstätte
Located in Atlanta, GA
A Wiener Werkstatte silver reticulated flower basket with original glass insert in a very rare model made with silver. Designed by Josef Hoffmann (Austrian, 1870-1956), Vienna, circa...
Silver
Silver centerpiece Josef Hoffmann for Wiener Werkstatte
By Wiener Werkstätte, Josef Hoffmann
Located in Autonomous City Buenos Aires, CABA
In style of Wiener Werkstätte, Vienna Wokshop, designed by Josef Hoffmann A silver bowls hand carved, made of silver and hallmarked on the lower bottom. Austria, circa 1920.
Silver, Sterling Silver
Jugendstil basket by Hans Ofner/Josef Hoffmann
By Josef Hoffmann, Hans Ofner
Located in Hronská Breznica, Banskobystrický kraj
Silverplated brass jugendstil basket by Hans Ofner/Josef Hoffmann with glass inlay. Original vintage condition with patina.
Brass
$2,400Sale Price|20% Off
H 2.96 in W 4.34 in D 3.75 in
Silver centerpiece by Josef Hoffmann for the Wiener Werkstatte
By Josef Hoffmann
Located in Autonomous City Buenos Aires, CABA
Silver Centerpiece by Josef Hoffmann for the Vienna Secession Elegant silver (precious metal) centerpiece designed by Josef Hoffmann and executed by the Vienna Secession. The design ...
Sterling Silver
$799 / item
H 0.4 in Dm 11.82 in
Josef Hoffmann - Wiener Werkstatte - Art Deco Copper Hand Hammered Plates
By Josef Hoffmann
Located in Buenos Aires, Olivos
Josef Hoffmann - Wiener Werkstatte - Art Deco Copper Hand Hammered Plates. We have 5 plates that will be sold individualy. WIENER WERKSTATTE The Wiener Werkstatte (Vienna Workshop) exerted an enormous influence on artists and designers throughout the first part of the 20th century. In 1897 a group of progressive artists and designers, led by architect Josef Hoffman and painter Koloman Moser, formed the Vienna Secession which became the Wiener Werkstätte Produktiv-Gemeinschaft von Kunsthandwerken, Wien (the Viennese Workshop and Production Cooperative of Art Works in Vienna) in 1903 when they received backing from a prominent businessman. This enabled them to equip workshops especially for working on modern design in a range of applied arts like glass, metalwork and jewellery.Online art courses The aim of the Wiener Werkstatte artists and designers was to bring good design and art into every part of people's lives. They also wanted to break with the past and bring new style to everything they produced. Emphasis was placed on the beautiful and unique as well as faultless craftsmanship. The concept was modeled after Charles Robert Ashbee's Guild of Handicraft. By 1905 it had over a hundred craftsmen, of whom 37 were masters of their trade, its strong point being handmade metalware whose reductive style proved its dependence on hand production. In addition to the workshops on its own premises, the Wiener Werkstätte had recourse to free-lance craftsmen, students at Kunstgewerbeschule of Vienna (the School of Applied Arts, where both Hoffmann and Moser taught) and contemporary industry. Furniture production, for example, though at one point part of the Werkstätte's program, was more congenially licensed to outside manufacturers such as Gebrüder Thonet and J. & J. Kohn. In 1907, the Wiener Werkstätte took over distribution for the Wiener Keramik, a ceramics workshop of kindred spirit headed by Michael Powolny and Berthold Löffler...
Brass, Copper
$6,500
H 4.5 in Dm 8.5 in
Art Nouveau Silver Plated Centerpiece Bowl By J. Hoffmann for Wiener Werkstätte
By Wiener Werkstätte, Josef Hoffmann
Located in North Miami, FL
Art Nouveau austrian polished silver plated centerpiece bowl By Josef Hoffmann for Wiener Werkstätte By: Josef Hoffmann, Wiener Werkstätte Material: silver, silverplate, metal Techn...
Silver, Silver Plate, Metal
$2,500
H 2 in W 14 in D 26.5 in
Large Anglo-Indian Brass Repoussé Peacock Serving Tray, India, circa 1920
By Rajhastani
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Large Anglo-Indian Brass Repoussé Peacock Serving Tray, India, circa 1920 An exceptional large early 20th-century Anglo-Indian brass serving tray, handcrafted in India circa 1920, f...
Brass
Secession Hans Ofner/Josef Hoffmann egg cups
By Hans Ofner, Josef Hoffmann
Located in Hronská Breznica, Banskobystrický kraj
Secession Hans Ofner/Josef Hoffmann egg cups in original condition with patina. Salt and pepper cups are missing.
Alpaca
$2,500
H 0.4 in Dm 13.39 in
Decorative silver-plated metal plate by Josef Hoffmann for Wiener Werkstatte Vie
By Josef Hoffmann
Located in Autonomous City Buenos Aires, CABA
Silver-plated decorative plate by Josef Hoffmann for Wiener Werkstätte Vienna This is a distinctive silver-plated decorative plate from Wiener Werkstätte, designed by Josef Hoffmann....
Metal
$1,707 / item
H 2.37 in W 19.3 in D 14.18 in
Coimbra Marquetry Serving Tray, Walnut Burl Hexagons, Ash, Hammered Brass
By Greenapple, Lusitanus Home
Located in Lisboa, PT
Coimbra is a serving tray in wood marquetry with two hammered brass handles, cut in a soft organic outline, made in Portugal by Lusitanus Home in its own atelier. The pattern is a ho...
Brass
Wiener Werkstatte Chrome and Glass Basket Server
By Wiener Werkstätte, Josef Hoffmann
Located in Atlanta, GA
An elegant server from the Wiener Werkstatte made of chrome-plated brass with a glass liner. The basket has a perforated geometric motif all around and sits on balled feet. It featur...
Crystal, Chrome