Rock Crystal Bowl

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Rock Crystal Bowl

Artist Josef Hoffmann (Austrian, 1870-1956)

Place of OriginAustria

Dateabout 1905

DimensionsH: 4 1/4 in. (10.8 cm); L: 11 1/8 in. (28.2 cm); W: 7 1/2 in. (19 cm)

MediumRock crystal bowl, carved. cut, and polished; chased silver mount

ClassificationMetalwork

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest in Memory of her Father, Maurice A. Scott

Object number

1980.9

Not on View

Label TextRock crystal, the clear and colorless variety of quartz, has been prized since antiquity for its transparency. Traditionally, the most precious rock crystal vessels were large in scale and flawless, without quartz’s more characteristic striations and mineral inclusions. In the early 20th century, craftsmen and designers like Josef Hoffmann recognized the naturally occurring internal lines and bands of the mineral as inherently beautiful and more expressive of nature than the flawless specimens preferred earlier.Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, The Bauhaus Experiment: Art & Design from the Toledo Museum of Art, August 25, 2020-February 7, 2021.