Austrian Fledermaus Settee by Josef Hoffmann, 1910s

£2,381.00

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About This Piece

Vintage Design

This settee is a fusion of two styles: Josef Hoffmann’s Secession and Thonet’s furniture aesthetics. It is made entirely of bent orange beechwood, varnished and polished.
Josef Hoffmann was an Austrian architect and designer, who contributed to establishing Vienna Secession and Wiener Werkstätte. His works clearly show a taste for straight lines and geometric shapes. Hoffmann often used ornamental circular forms as elements of construction.
This settee was made after Hoffmann’s special project for the famous Kabarett Fledermaus, active in Vienna between 1907 and 1913. The group of artists who designed interiors for the Fledermaus included prominent figures of Vienna Secession: Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, Anton Kling, or Eduard Wimmer. Especially for Fledermaus, Hoffmann designed a furniture set named Kohn, which is still produced today. Hoffmann’s furniture became an icon of design of the 20th century.
An innovative technique used for making this settee is an artistic way of bending wooden bars. Invented in the first half of the 19th century by Austrian carpenter, Michael Thonet, founder of the Thonet company, it soon was used for mass furniture production. Typical features of Thonet’s furniture were light openwork structure and clear form. Despite its seemingly light shape, this settee is very durable, solid and stable, thanks to carefully designed construction.
The settee underwent professional renovation of upholstery.

Designer	Josef Hoffmann
Design Period	1890 to 1919
Country of Manufacture	Austria
Style	Antique, Design Classics, Art Nouveau
Detailed Condition	Very Good — This vintage item has no defects, but it may show slight traces of use.
Restoration and Damage Details	Reupholstered
Product Code	FSD-206763
Materials	Bentwood, Fabric, Upholstery, Wood
Color	Beige, brown, cream, ivory, white
Width	118 cm 118 cm
Depth	50 cm 50 cm
Height	77 cm 77 cm
Weight Range	Standard — Between 40kg and 80kg

Shipping & Delivery

Shipping Method	Front Door Delivery - 2 to 4 weeks
Ships from	Poland
Returns	Returns accepted within 14 days of delivery, except for Made-to-order items

Delivery Options

Front Door Delivery: (Included in Every Order)	A skilled driver will unload the item(s) from the delivery truck and bring it to your building’s doorstep. You will be responsible for further transport beyond that point. We recommend asking a family member or friend for an extra hand; alternatively, you may upgrade to In-Home Delivery (see below). The delivery partner will email and/or call you at least one day in advance to arrange a delivery time. A wooden crate may be used for intercontinental shipments for maximum protection. Item will be left in its packaging after delivery. A signature will be required upon delivery.
In-Home Delivery: (For in-home delivery service, additional fees apply. Please get in touch)	A skilled driver or a team of two will bring your item(s) inside your home and place it in the immediate entryway. For unusually large or heavy items, we recommend asking a family member or friend for an extra hand, as we cannot send more than 2 drivers. The delivery partner will email and/or call you one day in advance to arrange a delivery time. A wooden crate may be used for intercontinental shipments for maximum protection. Item will be left in its packaging after delivery. A signature will be required upon delivery.

Front Door Delivery:
(Included in Every Order)

A skilled driver will unload the item(s) from the delivery truck and bring it to your building’s doorstep. You will be responsible for further transport beyond that point. We recommend asking a family member or friend for an extra hand; alternatively, you may upgrade to In-Home Delivery (see below).
The delivery partner will email and/or call you at least one day in advance to arrange a delivery time.
A wooden crate may be used for intercontinental shipments for maximum protection.
Item will be left in its packaging after delivery.
A signature will be required upon delivery.

In-Home Delivery:
(For in-home delivery service, additional fees apply. Please get in touch)

A skilled driver or a team of two will bring your item(s) inside your home and place it in the immediate entryway. For unusually large or heavy items, we recommend asking a family member or friend for an extra hand, as we cannot send more than 2 drivers.
The delivery partner will email and/or call you one day in advance to arrange a delivery time.
A wooden crate may be used for intercontinental shipments for maximum protection.
Item will be left in its packaging after delivery.
A signature will be required upon delivery.

*Important Note

Please examine every order upon delivery. In the event that there are visible signs of damage or missing or incorrect pieces, please indicate the problem on the Delivery Note and contact us within 48 hours of delivery. A signed delivery receipt without notations of missing, damaged, or incorrect item(s) represents your acceptance of the complete order in perfect condition.

About the Designer

Josef Hoffmann

Architect-designer Josef Hoffmann was born in 1870 in Prinitz, Moravia (now Brtnice, the Czech Republic). He studied architecture at the Senior State Commercial and Technical School in Brünn (now Brno, Czech Republic). After a year of practice in Würzburg, Germany, he moved to Vienna, the city where he would remain for the rest of his life. He enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts there, and, between 1892 and 1895, studied under both Karl von Hasenauer and Otto Wagner. From 1896 to 1897, he worked in Wagner’s Vienna studio. He also became one of the founding members of the Vienna Secession, a group of artists (including Gustav Klimt, Carl Moll, and others) who favored a modern, experimental approach to the arts. Hoffman’s contributions to several Secession exhibition installations, all influenced by the Art Nouveau-Jugendstil style, helped establish his name. In 1899, he was appointed a professor at Vienna’s Kunstgewerbeschule, a position he held until his retirement in 1936. He taught in the school’s architecture, metalwork, enamel, and applied art departments.

Around 1900, Hoffmann became a proponent of the Gesamtkunstwerk (or total work of art) approach, exemplified through unified architecture and interior design, with an emphasis on craftsmanship. He was cofounder and co-artistic director, alongside Koloman Moser, for the new Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna Workshops) beginning in 1903. In 1905, he left the Secession, and received the commission to design the Palais Stoclet in Brussels. Completed in 1911, the Stoclet was arguably Hoffmann’s most important architectural project.

Throughout his prolific 50-year career, Hoffmann designed everything from textiles to furniture, fashion, jewelry, exhibitions, and buildings for prestigious clients like Lobmeyr and Lötz. Later in his life, he focused primarily on housing projects. Aesthetically, his work evolved from Jugendstil to more minimal, geometric forms and then on toward neoclassicism.

He died in Vienna in 1956.