Bowl by Josef Hoffman, on display as part of the "Jazz Age" exhibit at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States.

Hoffmann (1870-1956) was an Austrian architect and designer. In 1897, he co-founded the Vienna Secession movement with Joseph Maria Olbrich, Gustav Klimt, and Koloman Moser. This movement rejected Historicism, and advocated "to each age, its own art." Two years later, he co-founded Wiener Werkstätte with artist Koloman Moser. The studio brought together architects, artists and designers to create ceramics, clothing, furniture, graphic arts, and silver. It is regarded as the first modern design studio.

This 1917 silver bowl reflects Hoffman's love of Neoclassical German and Austrian design. Its surface purposefully imitates the hammered look of hand-crafted silver.

The bowl itself was fashioned with "raised silver", which is to say that a sheet of silver was laid on a rounded anvil and hammered to take on a rounded shape. The hammer marks were then engraved onto the surface.

1. CMAJazzAge