Based on Oswald Haerdtl’s design for a champagne flute from the No. 240 series (1925), a two-part leather gaiter is wrapped around the crystal glass by J. & L. Lobmeyr. It protects the glass during transport, while the prominently exposed zipper also provides an expanded means of access and use. Depending on how it is opened and carried, the relationship between cover and object changes: the glass can be fully enclosed, partially revealed, or deliberately accentuated. The champagne glass is handled with the care associated with velvet gloves, while the protective gesture itself becomes a form of clothing for the object.

materials:
Tanned horsehide from Upper Austria – patinated concordia brass zipper from Budapest

photo credits:
Marie Luise Baumschlager