Orakelblume & Design 9297 12.04

Maharam continues to explore textile designs of the early 20th Century with the introduction of Orakelblume by Koloman Moser, 1901 and Design by Josef Hoffmann, 1913. Founders of the Wiener Werkstätte, Moser and Hoffmann are noted for their prescient shift away from the literal, representational patterns of the times, toward the abstracted, geometrical motifs of early modernism.

Founded in 1903, the Wiener Werkstätte was influenced by the Austrian Arts and Craft movement, and embraced simplicity, local materials and craft traditions in reaction against “useless” gingerbread ornamentation and industrial mass production. A progressive alliance of decorative artists and craftsmen, the mission of the Wiener Werkstätte was to realize the ideal of “Gesamtkunstwerk” (comprehensive total work of art): a coordinated environment in which every object down to the last teaspoon was consciously designed to unify all facets of human life into one cohesive work of art.

As teacher, artist, and craftsman, Koloman Moser had an immense influence on the tastes of his time. A graduate of Vienna School for Arts and Crafts, he later returned to the school as a professor and revolutionized the coursework. Like many members of the Wiener Werkstätte, Moser was an incredibly versatile artist. He began his career with graphics, fashion drawings, and book illustrations, but soon turned his creative eye to ceramics, furniture, jewelry, fabrics, and all aspects of interior design. The stylized daisies in Orakelblume illustrate Moser’s penchant for juxtaposing geometric shapes with whimsical motifs.

Josef Hoffmann was one of the premier Viennese proponents of the Gesamtkunstwerk. A gifted and prolific designer of architecture, furniture, utensils, clothing, posters, textiles, and wallpaper, Hoffmann was convinced of the social and spiritual benefits of harmonious living environments designed by a single creative mind. Around 1900, Hoffmann developed the geometrically refined signature style that he incorporated in designs for silver, furniture, carpets, linens, and lamps, as well as the offset pattern of Design. Created by Josef Hoffmann in 1913, Design 9297 was never manufactured, and still retains the name assigned to it in the mill archive. To develop the palette, the Maharam Design Studio drew on color references from the early 20th Century, including other examples of Hoffmann’s work. Although the original trial sample from 1913 was created with a tapestry construction, the re-edition is rendered in a satin weave; this change in construction creates an elegant sheen and purity of color that further highlights the strikingly modern and graphic nature of the design.

Created as a repository of textiles drawn from the archives of many of the great multi-disciplinary designers of the 20th Century, Maharam’s Textiles of the 20th Century™ Series of re-editions includes the work of Anni Albers, Gunnar Aagaard Andersen, Charles and Ray Eames, Alexander Girard, Josef Hoffmann, Arne Jacobsen, Koloman Moser, George Nelson, Verner Panton, Dagobert Peche, and Gio Ponti.

Design 9297 by Josef Hoffmann
Width: 55" (140 cm)
Colors: 8
Content: 53% Cotton, 47% Rayon

Orakelblume by Kolomon Moser
Width: 55" (140 cm)
Colors: 8
Content: 59% Cotton, 41% Rayon

Orakelblume Group Shot 1

Hi-Resolution file size: 7.14 MB
credit: Sean Hemmerle
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