Art Nouveau Copper Cicada Vase with Opal by Ludwig Karl Maria Vierthaler

Recognized for his technically superior and beautiful metal patinations for tableware, Munich-born Ludwig Karl Maria Vierthaler’s designs and metalwork caught the attention of Tiffany Co., NY, for whom he worked in the mid-1890s. 1906 proved to be a decisive year in his career. 

Though Vierthaler had left his position as the Director of Design at J. Winhart Co. earlier that year, examples of his work for Winhart were shown along with collaborative work with Eugen Ehrenbock at the Bayerische Jubiläums-Landers-Ausstellung Nürnberg — for which he received a gold medal — and at the Deutsche Kunstgewerbe-Ausstellung in Dresden — for which he received a silver medal. He and Ehrenbock formalized their partnership in 1907. 

Vierthaler later expanded his metalwork output to include jewelry and lighting design as well as figural and ornamental building decoration design. A member of the Deutscher Werkbund, Vierthaler went on to become a full professor in Hanover at the Staaliche Handwerkerund Kunstgewerberschule and at the Technische Hochschule.

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(Biography provided by Galerie Fledermaus)