Josef Maria Olbrich - Jewelry cabinet, 1901
Josef Maria Olbrich - Jewelry cabinet, 1901
Josef Maria Olbrich - Jewelry cabinet, 1901
Josef Maria Olbrich - Jewelry cabinet, 1901
Josef Maria Olbrich - Jewelry cabinet, 1901
Josef Maria Olbrich
Made by Robert Macco
40 x 20 x 17 cm
Further images
A preparatory drawing of this coffer by Olbrich is in the Berlin Kunstbibliothek (Inv. OZ224-046), on a sheet of paper with Darmstadt Kunstkolonie letterhead.
There are five examples of this design known today, including the one offered here. Three were made in light brown wood, while ours is one of only two made in ebonized pear wood. The jewelry coffer was originally designed for Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt Ernst Ludwig. His example, the only other ebonized one known, is still in the Hesse-Darmstadt family collection (Hessiche Hausstiftung Kronberg, Inv-Nor WO K8102). The three light-colored coffers are in the collections of the Museum Künstlerkolonie in Darmtstadt, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and in a European Private collection.
Provenance
Presumably made for the house of Georg Keller, Alexandraweeg 31, Darmstadt - Untraced for most of the XXth century - Collection of Pierre Eden, Brussels, ca. 1990 - Yves Macaux, Brussels, until 2008 - European Private Collection, 2008-2021.
Exhibitions
Oscar Graf, TEFAF Maastricht 2022 "1900 Wonders of the Belle Époque"Literature
‘Wohnraüm, Haus Keller, Darmstadt’, in Ideen von Olbrich, 1901, plate 111 - Peter Haïko and Bernard Krimmel, Joseph Maria Olbrich : Architecture, 1988, page 134 (for a similar piece) - Exhibition Catalog, Joseph M. Olbrich, 1867-1908, Darmstadt
Mathildenhöhe, 1983, page 372
(for two similar examples) - Exhibition Catalog, Joseph Maria Olbrich : 1867 - 1908 : Architekt und Gestalter der frühen Moderne,Leopold Museum, 2010, page 297 (for two similar examples).