Original Art Deco Wall Clock by Adolf Loos Early 20th Century, Functioning

Item DetailsDesignerSeller InformationShipping ReturnsThe 1stDibs Promise

About the Item

Functioning wall clock, model design Adolf Loos, circa 1920, white enameled octagonal metal housing, clear glass in nickel binding (flap missing), black hands and numbers, signs of use, manufacturer unknown. Literature: E. Ottlinger, Adolf Loos, Salzburg 1994, Nr.62 p. 66 a similar model. Several versions were made by: Franz Klier, Max BoehnelCreator: Woka Lamps (Retailer),Adolf Loos (Designer)Dimensions: Height: 18.12 in (46 cm)Diameter: 18.12 in (46 cm)Style: Art Deco (Of the Period)Materials and Techniques: Brass,Hand-CraftedPlace of Origin: AustriaPeriod: 1920-1929Date of Manufacture: 1920Condition: GoodWear consistent with age and use. Minor losses.Seller Location: Vienna, ATReference Number: Seller: 350291stDibs: LU1050242662452Shop All Adolf Loos

Adolf Loos

Essentially dubbed the Frank Llyoyd Wright of Europe by Wright himself, Adolf Loos possessed a talent for architecture and interior design as potent as his outspoken criticism of Art Nouveau and excessive ornamentation. A forerunner of the International Style, Loos exercised immense restraint in his building projects as well as his designs for chairs, tables, storage pieces and other furniture, and wrote prolifically on his disdain for taking a decorative approach to architecture.

The son of a stonemason and sculptor, Loos was born in 1870 in what is now Brno in the Czech Republic. He studied architecture in Dresden in 1889, completed a year of military service and moved to the United States by 1893. He visited the Worlds Columbian Exposition in Chicago and came to appreciate the American approach to design over his three-year stay before returning to Vienna.

An avid proponent of simplicity, Loos hated fluff above all else. In his best known essay, Ornament and Crime, he states the evolution of culture is synonymous with the removal of ornamentation from objects of everyday use a principle evident in both his architectural work and furniture. His writing was profoundly influential for practitioners of the International Style that would emerge later as well as the likes of prolific Swiss-born French architect and modernist prophet Le Corbusier.

Loos challenged the prevailing architecture and decorating styles of his time, and disliked the ornate work associated with the Vienna Secession and Gesamtkunstwerk the concept of a house as total work of art an ideal pursued by a collective born from the Secession called the Wiener Werksttte. To Loos, design should prioritize function, and any ornamentation devoid of a structural purpose was childish and unnecessary.

Looss furniture alongside the work of fellow Austrian architect Josef Hoffman was the subject of an exhibition at the Museum of Applied Arts in 2014. His architecture projects, including the Viennese Goldman and Salatsch building, the Austrian Steiner House and the Villa Mller in Prague, are celebrated by design enthusiasts all over the world.

Find vintage Adolf Loos seating, lighting and other furniture on 1stDibs.