Cigarette Urns, 1928–29, Wiener Werkstätte (Austrian, 1903–1932), Josef Hoffmann (Austrian, 1870–1956), shape designer, Max Snischek (Austrian, 1891–1968), designer, enamel on copper, Museum Purchase, 1930.42, 1930.43

Verbal Description

Hello, my name is Caitlin Tracey-Miller and I am Assistant Director of Visitor Research at the museum. I will be reading the verbal description for the Cigarette Urns in Unlocking an Art Deco Bedroom by Joseph Urban.

The museum’s Cigarette Urns are from 1928-29 and are enamel on copper. The shape designer was Josef Hoffman, an Austrian who lived from 1870 to 1956. They were designed by Max Snischek, also an Austrian, who lived from 1891 to 1968. They were produced by the Werner Werkstätte, an Austrian design firm dating from 1903 to 1932. They were a museum purchase. The accession numbers are 1930.42 and 1930.43

This pair of Cigarette Urns stand 3 inches in height and are enamel on copper. They are circular and look like a short-footed straight-sided wine glasses. The rim along the lip and around the base of each urn is burnished copper in color. The base of one urn is orange-red, and the other is teal-blue. The urn with the orange-red base has an abstract leaf pattern in blue, teal, and green. The urn with the teal-blue base is decorated with a geometric pattern of squares and rectangles in blue, orange, gray, and yellow.

Label Copy

Hello, my name is Caitlin Tracey-Miller and I am Assistant Director of Visitor Research at the museum. I will be reading the label for the Cigarette Urns in Unlocking an Art Deco Bedroom by Joseph Urban.

The museum’s Cigarette Urns are from 1928-29 and are enamel on copper. The shape designer was Josef Hoffman, an Austrian who lived from 1870 to 1956. They were designed by Max Snischek, also an Austrian, who lived from 1891 to 1968. They were produced by the Werner Werkstätte, an Austrian design firm dating from 1903 to 1932. They were a museum purchase. The accession numbers are 1930.42 and 1930.43

These colorful urns are small, but they bear a strong graphic punch. Intended to hold un-smoked cigarettes, they are part of a group of objects that the museum acquired directly from the Wiener Werkstätte’s New York representatives in 1930. That year, with the pewter vase and the ceramics on view nearby, they were part of an exhibition on modern decorative arts presented at the Cincinnati Art Museum. It was written, "Though seven nations are represented in the present exhibition—Austria, France, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Czechoslovakia, and the United States—the same spirit pervades all of the best designs, a spirit which is thoroughly consistent with contemporary life. . . . This unity has been brought about by our unprecedented facilities for travel and the communication of ideas." Urban’s role as an early promoter of the Werkstätte’s work was essential to this exchange of ideas.

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