Herme Vase

Created in 1907, the Hermenvase represents one of the most successful, iconic, and historically significant sculptural achievements

of the ceramic production of Michael Powolny, co-founder in 1906 (along with Bertold Löffler) of Wiener

Keramik. This factory's creations were almost immediately distributed, integrated, and registered

in the official art catalog of the renowned Wiener Werkstätte, where this specific piece is

historically listed as model number W 130.

The work is structured around a central cylindrical body, grafted and punctuated three-dimensionally by three monumental and solemn female

figures, which explicitly recall the classical sculptural typology of the herm. These

figures merge into the vase, rising like supporting pillars; The bodies, naked in the upper portion and

captured in poses of measured and hieratic sensuality, are topped with geometric hairstyles or headdresses, adorned with

graphic motifs typical of Viennese Modernism. The ceramic surface, coated with an ivory-colored glaze

with a warm and glossy monochrome refraction, is graced with skillful and essential finishes in pure gold, which emphasize

the geometric decorative details and contours, giving the object an intrinsic formal preciousness and a controlled

luminous vibration.

From a philological and critical perspective, this vase perfectly embodies the overcoming of the phytomorphic sinuosities

of early Art Nouveau in favor of a synthetic and architectural rigor, guided by the geometric

intuitions of Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser. The harmonious contrast between the soft, modeled forms and

the prismatic rigidity of the pillars gives the vase a monumental dignity that transcends its mere decorative function, elevating it to a true interior sculpture.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCED EXHIBITIONS

VII International Art Biennale of the City of Venice, 1907.

Similar example in: Leopold Museum, Vienna, Inv. no. 4601.

Catalog of the Wiener Werkstätte, Model no. W 130.

Elisabeth Frottier, Michael Powolny. Ceramics and Glass from Vienna. 1900 to 1950. Monographs and Workshop Reviews,

Wien/Köln, 1990, p. 196, no. WV 22.

Klimt. The Secession and Italy, exhibition catalog (Museo di Roma, Palazzo Braschi, 2021/2022), edited by M.

Vittoria Clarelli, Franz Smola, Sandra Tretter, Ed. Skira, pp. 218-219, no. IX.15.

Klimt. The Man, the Artist, His World, exhibition catalog (Piacenza, XNL - GAM Ricci Oddi, 2022), edited by G.

Belli, E. Pontiggia, Ed. Skira, p. 208, f. IV.17.

Wiener Keramik. Bertold Löffler and Michael Powolny: Catalogue Raisonné, edited by Thomas Arlt and Arthur Weilinger,

Vienna, 2018, p. 220, no. 37.

Venice and the Biennale. The Paths of Taste, Fabbri Editori, 1995, edited by Giandomenico Romanelli, p. 367, f. 250.

Artist: Michael Powolny
Year: 1907
Dimensions: 35 x 21 x 24