Applied Arts

The Applied Arts collection in the Wien Museum contains objects produced by craftspeople, the art industry, and designers. The oldest of these include important medieval stained glass from the choir of St. Stephen’s (ca. 1340) and the second "Habsburg Window" from the cathedral’s of St. Bartholomew Chapel (ca. 1380). The collection, which is organized in terms of materials (glass, ceramic, metal, porcelain, and miscellaneous), focuses on the Biedermeier period, Viennese modernism, and the 1920s and 1930s. The foundations of the collection, which is constantly being enhanced by means of individual purchases, were laid by acquiring private collections from Alfred Ritter von Franck, Karl Mayer, and Albert Figdor and extensive acquisitions from the Wiener Werkstätte and the Goldscheider factory.

The porcelain collection contains important works from the "Wiener Porzellanmanufaktur" (Vienna Porcelain Manufactory, 1718–1864) and its successor, the "Wiener Porzellanmanufaktur Augarten" (Vienna Porcelain Manufactory Augarten), which opened in 1923. The collection includes rare works from the early days of these manufactories as well as key pieces from the classicist "Sorgenthal Period".

"Ranftbecher" — glasses painted with transparent enamel paint that open out towards the top and have a gently protruding base or "Ranft" — by Gottlob Samuel Mohn and Anton Kothgasser are amongst the leading examples of Biedermeier arts and crafts. The painted motifs include portraits of rulers, views of Viennese squares and buildings, and flowers; so-called friendship and memento glasses were also decorated with mottos and sayings.

One important highlight of the ceramics collection is the around 500 figures and vessels from the Goldscheider factory (1885-1953). The serially produced figures reflect popular tastes from historicism to the 1960s. They include famous objects such as Josef Lorenzl’s "Der gefangene Vogel" (The Captive Bird) and Ida Meisinger’s "Der Modehund" (The Fashion Dog) as well as ceramics by Arthur Strasser, Stefan Dakon, and Rudolf Knörlein.

The Wiener Werkstätte (1903-32), which was founded by Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser, and Fritz Waerndorfer, is the subject of another key part of the collection. By building on the artisanal tradition and the arts and crafts movement, the Werkstätte developed a modern Viennese design vocabulary with a global reach. Particularly notable items in the collection include silver objects by Hoffmann, Moser, and Dagobert Peche and ceramics by Michael Powolny, Berthold Löffler, Vally Wieselthier, and Kitty Rix.

The museum is home to an important group of design objects from the 1920s to the 1950s in the shape of a collection of works by Carl Auböck (1900-1957). A main feature from the second half of the 20^th century is the archive of Section N, Vienna’s first concept store, which was founded in 1971. The photographs, portraits, posters, books, and design objects from the store’s product summon the Viennese culture from the 1970s and 1980s — a combination of Viennese tradition, the international avant-garde, and contemporary design.