A “TIMELESS” classic piece of furniture is set to go under the hammer in Dorset next week.

A table designed by renowned Austro-Czechoslovakian architect, Adolf Loos, will be among lots at the Busby Auctioneers Fine Art and Antiques Sale on September 17.

The Elephant Trunk table, named due to the shape of the legs, was designed by Loos, a pioneer of Modern architecture and likely executed by FO Schmidt of Vienna some time around 1900.

It is mahogany with patinated bronze mounts, an hexagonal lobed top, raised on cabriole legs and is set to come to auction with an estimate of £6,000 to £8,000.

“Influenced by three months in London, Loos greatly admired the work of Thomas Chippendale (1718-1779) and George Hepplewhite (1726-1786),” an auction spokesperson said.

“Loos favoured exotic and elaborate sources for his furniture. The Elephant Trunk table, where the legs follow the curve of an elephants trunk, was likely a model developed by Loos from English furniture.”

Born in Breunn in 1870, Loos studied at the technical school in Liberec, Czech Republic, before studying at Dresden Technical University, then moving to Vienna.

Adolf Loos was a renowned architect and furniture designer. Picture: Otto Mayer

He is most famous for his theory of Ornament and Crime (written in 1907), a repudiation to the florid style of the Secessionists, Austria’s answer to Art Nouveau; as well as buildings such as the Looshaus on Michaelerplatz, Vienna.

“His buildings are examples of austere beauty. He was a great believer in the classical tradition of architecture and buildings such as Looshaus with its Tuscan marble colonnade, an illusion to St Micheal’s Church, and lack of ornamentation was controversial in a city which was still rooted in the historicist style,” the spokesperson went on.

Loos died in 1933 in Karlburg, just outside Vienna, having left an “indelible mark on Modernist architecture”.

Viewings for the Busby sale will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday (September 15 and 16) from 10am to 5pm, with the sale starting at 10am on Thursday (September 17) at Busby Auction House, at North Mills, Bridport.

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