Josef Hoffmann 24-Ball Table, J&J Kohn #1263 from 1905/6

Extremely rare Josef Hoffmann table. Six balls connect each of the four columns, bent beech and plywood, dyed to rosewood and polished, surface slightly refreshed, top with glass, base covered with very fine hammered brass, very good original condition

G. Renzi, Il mobile moderno, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna, Jacob [&] Josef Kohn, Milan, 2008, pp. 220 f

This table follows the same concept as the 'Seven Ball Chair' presented at the Kunstschau 1908

J. [&] J. Kohn commissioned Josef Hoffmann to design a reasonably priced house complete with fixtures, fittings and furniture for the Kunstschau 1908. To furnish the house, Hoffmann used many pieces of his already well-known furniture such as the 'sitting machine', the so-called 'Fledermaus' suite etc. On the veranda, there was also a seven-ball bench. For us, the seven-ball bench, armchair and chairs, as well as the 24-Ball table, are amongst the most modern and pioneering designs that Hoffmann ever developed for serial production by J. [&] J. Kohn. This design is truly one of the precursors of modernism. As is often the case, the prophet was not heard in his own land, and few chairs and tables of this design were sold. This is also one of the reasons why it is one of the most sought-after collector’s items of Josef Hoffmann’s entire oeuvre.