NEW YORK.- The Neue Galerie presents "Viennese Silver: Modern Design, 1780-1918," on view through February 16, 2004. This is an exhibition of more than 180 extraordinary objects of daily use. Many of these pieces are being shown in the United States for the first time. The exhibition will travel to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, where it will open in November 2004. The curator of the exhibition is Christian Witt-Dörring.

"Viennese Silver" includes objects that, through their refined functionalism and abstracted geometric form, anticipated the breakthroughs of Modernism. It begins with pieces commissioned by Hapsburg royalty, including the first American presentation of the outstanding breakfast service commissioned by Empress Maria Theresa. The exhibition proceeds to trace the development of the Biedermeier and Wiener Werkstätte traditions, and concludes with objects by Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser, who brought Viennese silver-making to new aesthetic heights. Works associated with important Austrian individuals are also presented, such as a jewelry box given to Alma Mahler by the composer; a box belonging to Emilie Flöge, who served as a muse of the artist Gustav Klimt; and several pieces acquired by members of the prominent Wittgenstein family.

"This exhibition allows us to look further into the history of Austrian decorative arts and to locate some of the sources of its genius," said Ronald S. Lauder, president of the Neue Galerie. "It is an honor to have as our partner in this endeavor the venerable Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna."