Vassoio Ovale

Vassoio Ovale

Multi-purpose tray

Josef Hoffman for the Wiener Werkstätte 1923 / Re-edition Alessi 2003 under licence of the Österreichisches Museum für Angewandte Kunst” (Austrian Museum of Applied Arts)

18/10 Stainless Steel

[L 10.25 x 8"]

This simple oval tray in 18/10 stainless steel, mirror polished with its characteristic wide undulating edge, was designed by Josef Hoffmann in 1923 and can be considered the archetype of many industrially-produced trays for serving Viennese coffee with a glass of iced water.

Josef Hoffman: Prominent member of the Viennese Secession, he was born in Pirnitz-Mähren in 1870. At the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, he studied under Karl Hasenauer and Otto Wagner and until 1937 he held a course in architecture at the Kunstgewerbeschule of the Österreichisches Museum für Kunst und Industrie. In 1903, together with Kolo Moser he founded the Wiener Werkstätte. He developed his simple geometric shapes starting from the curvilinear language of the European Art Nouveau. One of his most important works was the Stoclet Palace in Brussels (1905-1911). He developed the principles of the total work of art and died in 1956.