Art Nouveau Seating Group by Koloman Moser for Jacob & Josef Kohn, Vienna, Austria, 1902, Set of 3

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Object: Seating group (sofa, 2 armchairs)
Design: Koloman Moser (Vienna, 1902)
Model number: 719F (armchair) / 719C (sofa)
Manufactured by: Jacob & Josef Kohn (Vienna, from 1902)
Dimensions in cm, sofa (H x W x D x SH): 86.5 x 119 x 62.5 x 45
Dimensions in cm, armchair (H x W x D x SH): 86.5 x 53 x 53 x 45
Material: Bent beechwood, dyed blue and hand-polished with shellac, brass lacquered silver, fabric (original Backhausen, model "Herzblatt", design: Otto Prutscher, 1901)
Condition: Professionally restored
Provenance: Vienna area Private collection
Literature: Jacob & Josef Kohn, Catalog 1904 & 1907, Éditions Volutes 1900, pp. 82, 87 / Kohn, CATÁLOGO DE INTERIORES DE 1906, EL SHOWROOM DE BURGRING 3, p. 12 / Berliner Architekturwelt, 1905-1906 / Bent Wood - Constructive Designs Vienna 1840-1910, pp. 35, 36 / Wiener Werkstätte, Gabriele Fahr-Becker, Taschen, 1903-1932, p. 111 / Berliner Architekturwelt, 1905-1906 / https://www.leopoldmuseum.org/de/engagement/kunstpatenschaft/115/Koloman-Moser (Accessed on April 14, 2025) / Backhausen Company Archives, Original design drawing: Otto Prutscher, 1901

Additional Information:
This museum-quality seating group, consisting of a bench and two armchairs, was created around 1902 during Koloman Moser's creative heyday and was manufactured by the bentwood furniture factory Jacob & Josef Kohn. In 1904, the ensemble was presented at the J. & J. Kohn booth at the World's Fair in Saint Louis, along with other works by Moser, Siegel, and Wagner.

The design is characterized by the ideals of the Secession – clarity, reduction, and functional elegance – as well as the quality standards of the Wiener Werkstätte.

During the restoration, the wooden elements were dyed in the typical blue of the Wiener Werkstätte and hand-polished with shellac. The upholstery is by Backhausen (model "Herzblatt," design: Otto Prutscher, 1901).

Moser, a founding member of the Vienna Secession, was a professor at the School of Applied Arts from 1899, where he taught alongside Josef Hoffmann. In 1903, he founded the Wiener Werkstätte with Hoffmann and Fritz Waerndorfer – a central platform for the connection between art, crafts, and industry.

Otto Prutscher, who attended the School of Applied Arts from 1897 to 1901 and was a member of Hoffmann's class from 1899 onwards, was educated in this environment. The school's interdisciplinary focus suggests a direct influence on design, also from Moser. An expression of this close connection is the fabric "Herzblatt," which Prutscher designed in 1901 – chosen for the restoration of the seating group to exemplify the interaction between the generations of teachers and students.

The seating group is one of the early examples of the fruitful collaboration between leading Viennese designers and industrial furniture production and exemplifies the international appeal of Viennese Modernism around 1900.