Pair of armchairs

Initially designed for the Palais Stoclet, Brussels, 1905-1911, these polygonal club chairs, with heavy wood legs and originally covered in green leather, were also employed in the reception rooms of the Poldihotte steelworks, Vienna, 1912-1914. Unlike the Palais Stoclet, the interiors of the Poldihotte were largely dismantled. Thus our chairs are possibly from this commission, as other examples known to exist (see Fahr-Becker, p. 51 for an example) have hammered silver-plated feet.

Mahogany
upholstered in suede (2)
29 3/4 in. (75.5 cm) high

Literature:
DEUTSCHE KUNST UND DEKORATION, Vol. XXXV, 1914/1915, pp. 306-307 (for period photographs of the model at the Poldihotte steelworks)
Max Eisler, OSTERREICHISCHE WERKKULTUR, Vienna, 1916, p. 128 (ibid.)
Daniele Baroni and Antonio D'Auria, JOSEF HOFFMANN E LA WIENER WERKSTATTE, Milan, 1981, p. 152 (ibid.)
Eduard F. Sekler, JOSEF HOFFMANN: THE ARCHITECTURAL WORK, Princeton, 1985, cat. 170, pp. 355-356 (for an in-depth discussion of the Poldihotte steelworks commission)
Kirk Varnedoe, VIENNA 1900: ART, ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN, exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1986, p. 67 (for a similar model at the Palais Stoclet)
Gabriele Fahr-Becker, WIENER WERKSTATTE, 1903-1932, Cologne, 1995, p. 51 (for a similar model from an unknown commission)