Main stage at the design auction at Dorotheum in Vienna on May 30 is taken by jewellery designed by Josef Hoffmann, one of the leading lights of the Wiener Werkstätte.
Alongside a pendant set with semi-precious stones, made in an edition of three in 1903-04, which is estimated at €90,000, a unique brooch made before 1912 is expected to take top honours. The floral design of the 1.6 x 1.6in (4 x 4cm) brooch, which was executed by the Viennese goldsmith Karl Ponocny, incorporates gold, mother-of-pearl and moonstone and comes with its original leather case.