designed by Joseph Maria Olbrich in 1903/4 for the St. Louis Universal Exhibition, manufactured by L. Schäfer, Mainz, chased and silver plated brass, height 52 cm, diameter 83 cm. (DR)

This lidded tureen figured in the fictitious “summer residence of an art lover” furnished by Joseph Maria Olbrich for the German Arts and Crafts Show at the St. Louis Universal Exhibition in the USA in 1904, where the item was used as a centrepiece on a display cabinet. Olbrich’s contribution, which comprised altogether six room arrangements, was welcomed enthusiastically by both the public and the critics. Consequently, his works also turned out to be a huge commercial success. After the show, parts of the furnishings went to private owners; most of them, however, were purchased by John Wanamaker, then one of the most important furniture stores, with retail stores in Philadelphia and New York. Preparatory drawings for Olbrich’s room concept, which also include the tureen, are preserved in the Berlin Art Library. These drawings, as well as contemporary photographs, were on display in the large retrospective dedicated to Josef Maria Olbrich and held at the Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt from 7 February to 24 May 2010.

Provenance: - Don Magner, New York - private collection, New York.

Lit.: Joseph Maria Olbrich 1867–1908 – Architekt und Gestalter der frühen Moderne, exh. cat., Mathildenhöhe, Darmstadt; Leopold Museum, Vienna; Kunstbibliothek Staatliche Museen, Berlin, 2010, pp. 250–53 - Deutsches Kunstgewerbe, St. Louis, 1904, preface by Leo Nachtlicht, Berlin 1904 - K. Ruge, “Kunst und Kunstgewerbe auf der Weltausstellung zu St. Louis”, in: Kunst und Kunsthandwerk, Monatsschrift des k. k. Österreichischen Museums für Kunst und Industrie, 11, 1904, p. 542 - H. Muthesius, “Die Wohnungskunst auf der Welt–Ausstellung in St. Louis 1904”, in: Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration, XV, 1905, p. 219 - Innendekoration, 16, 1905, p. 187.