Description & Technical information

Designed by: Adolf Loos attr.
Executed by: Friedrich Otto Schmidt, Vienna, after 1900

Mahogany, solid and veneer, solid beech wood, dyed to rosewood, lightly refreshed approximately 20 years ago, surface slightly refreshed, original brass fittings, 5 brass keys, inside left 3 concealed drawers, right 3 drawers, very good original condition.

In many of his furnishing commissions, Adolf Loos used desks like this in slight variations. The formal language of our desk is closely related to Loos’s furnishings of 1912 for Gustav Turnovsky’s study. The structure of the base, the panelling, the ordering of the drawers and front doors is almost identical. Only the panelling on the sides, the closed back with its two storage compartments, and the fittings deviate from it. The writing desk top is also veneered over the whole surface.

Date:  1900
Period:  1850-1900
Origin:  Vienna
Medium: Mahogany, Solid and veneer, Solid beech wood, Dyed to rosewood
Dimensions: 78 x 160 x 80 cm (30³/₄ x 63 x 31¹/₂ inches)
Literature: Ref.: E. B. Ottillinger, Adolf Loos, Wohnkonzepte und Möbelentwürfe, p. 102
Categories: Decorative Arts & Design, Furniture