Affectionately dubbed an “ornamental genius,” Dagobert Peche (1887–1923) was a brilliant and versatile artist. Peche was involved with the Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna Workshops) for about a third of its nearly thirty-year history, and he is credited with ushering in a new and revitalized era for the firm.

Although most of what he designed had a functional purpose, Peche eschewed the utilitarian. Instead, he found his raison d’être in artistic expression for its own sake. Soon after the end of World War I, Peche began creating unique precious metal objects like this whimsical coffee and tea service. This is one of a number of magical fruits he designed, probably inspired by the legendary golden apples of Greek mythology. The service has ornately carved ivory handles. They provide a sensuous surface while also protecting the user’s hands from getting burned. The turquoise and silver rosettes serve no practical purpose, yet they add a playful note to the otherwise restrained forms of the hand-chased silver gourds.

Ironically, Peche lived in extremely impoverished conditions while designing such flights of fancy. Having spent part of World War I in neutral Switzerland while heading the Zürich branch of the Wiener Werkstätte, he returned to Vienna in 1919, a time of severe shortages and rationing. Perhaps designs like these were a form of escapism for him – or reaffirmation of life itself – as if he were creating a garden of paradise at a time of deprivation and despair.

LEARN MORE

Related Exhibition Catalogue
The Wiener Werkstätte style influenced generations of architects from Bauhaus to Art Deco. Wiener Werkstätte 1903-1932: The Luxury of Beauty features the work of well-known Wiener Werkstätte members such as Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser, and Dagobert Peche along with lesser known designers such as Gudrun Baudisch, Carl Otto Czeschka, and Ugo Zovetti.