Elements of a table service designed by Josef Hoffman for the Palais Stoclet for sale at Woolley & Wallis.
The seven pieces are part of a group of artworks from the family of the Belgian engineer, financier, and noted collector Adolphe Stoclet (1871-1949).
The Palais Stoclet, the first residential project for the Wiener Werkstätte, built between 1905-11, is considered Josef Hoffmann’s masterpiece. The mansion has been occupied since its opening by the Stoclet family and (although designated a World Heritage site by Unesco in June 2009), is not open to the public. It is currently owned by Stoclet’s four granddaughters.
The Hoffman silver pieces to be offered in Salisbury on June 21 are well documented.
Wiener Werkstätte
A silver and malachite comport with marks for the Wiener Werkstätte marks, Josef Hoffman and the maker Alfred Mayer is guided at £10,000-20,000. The original drawing for this piece (one of two made for Stoclet) is in the Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna (MAK).
An ensuite bowl or centrepiece, also made by Mayer, is possibly the same piece pictured in a black and white photo afront one of the famous series of mosaics by Gustav Klimt at Palais Stoclet. Sold together with a later silver and malachite tray made to a Hoffman design in Belgium, it is estimated at £15,000-20,000.
A pair of cylindrical preserve jars with hinged covers with marks for the Wiener Werkstätte marks and the silversmith Josef Hossfeld are guided at £3000-5000 while a pair of table salts with cut glass liners with stamped Austrian marks are guided at £1500-2000.
