2009.32.2.1, Hans Christiansen, fish knife
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Hans Christiansen, a member of the Darmstadt Artists’ Colony alongside fellow designer Peter Behrens, spent his early career focused on interiors; however, he also produced designs for select decorative objects—such as textiles, porcelains, tableware, and silver flatware—to outfit his interiors, including this Darmstadter Stil
2009.32.2.2, Hans Christiansen, fish fork
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Hans Christiansen, a member of the Darmstadt Artists’ Colony alongside fellow designer Peter Behrens, spent his early career focused on interiors; however, he also produced designs for select decorative objects—such as textiles, porcelains, tableware, and silver flatware—to outfit his interiors, including this Darmstadter Stil
Embossing
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Embossing is the process of ornamenting by stamping the metal with a form.
Repoussé and Chasing
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Repoussé is the process of decorating with a blunt tool by raising the surface of the metal from the back, leaving the ornament in relief. Sheet metal can be punched, scored, scratched, formed, or hammered against a yielding surface. Chasing is similar, but is done from the front of the sheet.
1989.111 Josef Hoffmann, Concordia Ball program cover
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Decorated with swirling vines and bellflowers, the ornamental scheme on this souvenir program cover and card case suggests the Wiener Werkstätte’s return after 1905 to more ornamental schemes than in its prior two years.
1989.91 Otto Prutscher, Dessert glass
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
This dessert glass is one of several models of “tall glasses” in various colors designed by Otto Prutscher and probably executed by Meyr’s Neffe—one of Europe’s oldest glass factories—in Bohemia, a region with a rich tradition of glassmaking.
Pair of mythical aso
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
An aso (dragon-dog) combines the traits of a powerful dragon with the awareness, speed, and fierce loyalty of a dog.
Wiener Werkstätte (1903-1932)
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
In the 1890s, progressive European design was defined by concurrent developments of new artistic trends including what was dubbed Art Nouveau (New Art) in France and Belgium, Stile Floreal (Floral Style) in Italy, and Jugendstil (Youth Style) in Germany and Austria.
The Batak of Sumatra
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Batak live mainly in the mountainous region of northern Sumatra, the largest of Indonesia’s roughly seventeen thousand islands. Estimated as numbering around six million, they constitute one of the largest ethnic minorities in this multiethnic nation, with its now almost two hundred fifty million inhabitants.
2000.354.McD Female protective figure
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
This female protective figure was most likely crea