Lot 44: CARL OTTO CZESCHKA (1878-1960)

CARL OTTO CZESCHKA (1878-1960)
FLATWARE SET IN ORIGINAL CUSTOM-FITTED WIENER WERKSTÄTTE PRESENTATION BOX, CIRCA 1910
executed at the Wiener Werkstätte, hand-wrought and repoussé silver, malachite cabochons, comprising soup spoon, fork, knife, dessert spoon and napkin ring, and silk-covered presentation box designed by A. Scharrisch
1½ in. (4 cm.) high; 9 1/8 in. (23.1 cm.) wide; 5¼ in. (13.5 cm.) deep the presentation case
impressed marks COC, WW, Vienna 900 silver assay mark, WW and Rosemark

Waltraud Neuwirth, Wiener Werkstätte: Die Schutzmarken, The Registered Trade Marks, Vienna, 1985, pp. 186-187
Christian Brandstätter, Wiener Werkstätte: Design in Vienna, 1903-1932, New York, 2003, p. 42

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 17.5% on the buyer's premium
Carl Otto Czeschka studied painting at the School of Fine Arts in Vienna and taught at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Vienna from 1902 to 1907. He officially joined the Wiener Werkstätte in 1905 but three years later, he resigned to take a teaching post at Hamburgs' Kunstgewerbeschule. He continued to submit designs for several years and exhibited with the Wiener Werkstätte until 1915. Between 1905 and 1915, Czeschka was one of the leading disseminators of the Wiener Werkstätte style.

He designed for a variety of media including jewellery, metalwork, textiles, furniture and graphic design. He contribuated to the Wiener Werkstätte's key interiors including the Palais Stoclet and the Cabaret Fledermaus.

In contrast to Josef Hoffmann's more rigid geometric and architectonic designs, Czeschka's formal language was defined by flora and fauna expressed in a graphic style.