Jugendstil grandfather clock Joseph M. Olbrich attr. A Nagel Vienna ca. 1905

The grandfather clock is part of a complete Jugendstil dining room manufactured by Viennese cabinetmaker A. Nagel. The exquisite ensemble dating from circa 1905 also includes a large sideboard and a vitrine, an extendable dining table with six chairs and a smaller side table. Stylistically very similar, Secessionist furniture and an almost identical sideboard designed by Joseph Maria Olbrich are illustrated in the exhibition catalog of the 1984 Venice Biennale “Le Arti a Vienna”. Thus, we feel confirmed in our assumption to attribute the whole ensemble to famous architect-designer Olbrich.
The two-part case of the grandfather clock is 203 centimetres in height and made of solid oak in fine cabinetmaker quality, stained and polished. Central detail is a beautifully crafted alpacca dial, bearing partly an elegantly hammered decoration. Carvings and mother-of-pearl inlays on the glazed door echoe the decor of the other furniture pieces in the ensemble. The grandfather clock features its original movement with strike on tone bar and is in good working order.
Overall, the representative dining room perfectly reflects the taste of the wealthy upper class in Vienna around 1900 and testifies to the superb quality of fine Viennese cabinetmaking of the time.