Last year the Dallas Museum of Art acquired a silver vitrine originally owned by the Wittgenstein family of Vienna and designed by Carl Otto Czeschka (1878–1960) of the Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna Workshops). It’s been the subject of an intensive research and conservation program and the museum is preparing to show it off. Modern Opulence in Vienna: The Wittgenstein Vitrine reveals to the public these results by exploring the conservation effort and charting the context and history of this masterwork’s design and fabrication, iconography, and provenance. Standing over five feet tall, this vitrine was originally owned by the Wittgenstein family of Vienna and is the largest and most lavish example known of the silverwork of the Wiener Werkstätte. A triumph of early 20th-century design, it is made of silver encrusted with enamel, pearls, opal, and other gemstones.
Modern Opulence in Vienna: The Wittgenstein Vitrine opens November 15.
Urban Art & Antiques 