ANONYMOUS MIRROR BALL FOR THE "METALLISCHE FEST

ANONYMOUS

MIRROR BALL FOR THE "METALLISCHE FEST," 1929

produced by the Bauhaus Metallwerkstatt, Dessau;

mirrored glass bulb, chrome-plated metal

11¾ in. (30 cm) drop

Hundreds of the large mirrored balls were hung as decoration from the ceiling of the entrance hall of the Bauhaus Dessau for a Carnival party held on February 9, 1929. The guests were to glide down a slide into the partyroom and see themselves thousandfold mirrored in the glass balls above (FIG. 1). This party was the last big event for the Metallwerkstatt, since Marianne Brandt, the head of the workshop, left the Bauhaus shortly after the festival, and the Metallwerkstatt lost some of its creative playful spirit.