Pair of Eight-armed Candelabras

The eight-flame girandole falls stylistically under the term ‘Neue Sachlichkeit’ (New Objectivity). This followed the work of the early period of the Wiener Werkstätte, 1903/04, where the designs of its artistic directors Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser had already anticipated the developments in the 1920s. The somewhat coarse decoration of the hammered décor favored at the beginning was reintroduced in a much more refined form, so that only a touch could be seen. Of this lamp design – which, according to the description on the drawing had already been designed in 1924 – 59 versions were made in silver between 1925 and 1930, while 15 items were manufactured under the model number M la 62 in brass between 1928 and 1929. In this case, too, the choice of material differentiated between the cheaper and more expensive model.1
1 Elisabeth Schmuttermeier in: Exhibition catalogue Josef Hoffmann. Hans Ofner,
ed. by Galerie bei der Albertina Zetter 2022, p. 74.