Chicken

c. 1920–30

Chicken, c. 1920–30. Austria, Vienna. Felted wood, embroidered and stuffed; overall: 21 x 15.2 x 8.9 cm (8 1/4 x 6 x 3 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Educational Purchase Fund 1931.11 Abstracted stuffed animals in proud poses originated with avant-garde Viennese designer Dagobert Peche, whose quirky sense of form and decoration ushered in a new era of whimsy and color in modern design in the 1920s. Peche was a powerful force among young artisans eager to establish a new vocabulary of design. These works reflect his modern fascination with geometry and contrasting color, though they were likely made by one of his students at the Wiener Werkstätte. Animals fascinated early modern designers interested in kinetic form and patterns of decoration.