Carl Aubock Box
Vintage 1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
Metal
Vintage 1960s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
Wood, Horn
Vintage 1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
Metal, Nickel
Vintage 1960s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
Metal, Chrome
Vintage 1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
Metal
Vintage 1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Brass
Vintage 1960s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
Horn, Wood
Vintage 1930s Austrian Art Deco Jewelry Boxes
Copper
Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
Leather
Vintage 1930s Austrian Art Deco Decorative Boxes
Brass, Nickel
Mid-20th Century Austrian Bauhaus Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes
Chrome
Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass
Vintage 1930s Austrian Art Deco Decorative Boxes
Brass, Nickel
Vintage 1930s Austrian Art Deco Decorative Boxes
Brass, Nickel
20th Century European Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes
Nutwood
Vintage 1960s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Knife Boxes
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Mid-Century Modern Cigar Boxes an...
Brass
Vintage 1960s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Knife Boxes
Steel
Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Aluminum
Vintage 1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Brass
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Brass
Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Knife Boxes
Metal
Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Knife Boxes
Stainless Steel
Vintage 1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Tobacco Accessories
Brass, Chrome
Vintage 1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Paperweights
Brass
Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Animal Sculptures
Brass
Vintage 1960s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Games
Nickel
Vintage 1930s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes
Metal
Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Serving Pieces
Stainless Steel
Vintage 1930s Austrian Tobacco Accessories
Brass, Nickel
20th Century Austrian Barware
Leather, Glass, Wood
Vintage 1930s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass
Vintage 1940s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Brass, Zinc
Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Jewelry Boxes
Brass
Vintage 1930s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
Nickel
Vintage 1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass, Nickel
Vintage 1930s Austrian Art Deco Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Brass
Vintage 1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Ashtrays
Brass
Vintage 1950s Austrian Decorative Boxes
Horn
Vintage 1930s Austrian Boxes
Chrome
Vintage 1930s Austrian Art Deco Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Brass
20th Century Austrian Modern Boxes
Brass
Vintage 1950s Austrian Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass
20th Century Austrian Boxes
Brass
Vintage 1950s Boxes
20th Century Austrian Boxes
Brass
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass
20th Century Austrian Modern Serving Bowls
Brass
20th Century Austrian Modern Desk Accessories
Brass
Vintage 1950s Danish Modern Decorative Boxes
Brass
20th Century Austrian Modern Barware
20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Games
20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desk Accessories
20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Games
Iron
Vintage 1950s Austrian Modern Desk Accessories
Mid-20th Century Unknown Mid-Century Modern Ashtrays
Metal, Bronze
Vintage 1930s Austrian Art Deco Jewelry Boxes
Copper
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Carl Aubock Box For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Carl Aubock Box?
Werkstätte Carl Auböck for sale on 1stDibs
In Vienna’s Neubau district, a beautiful Biedermeier townhouse has been home to the Werkstätte Carl Auböck for more than 100 years. Inside the workshop, where production continues to this day, countless objects line the shelves, walls, tabletops and desktops.
The Viennese artist and designer Carl Auböck II was one of the quirkiest and most delightful and collectible of modern designers. A rather odd duck in the world of decorative arts, he was a peculiar talent whose specialties included smaller desk accessories and tabletop pieces such as corkscrews, paperweights, letter openers, bookends and bottle stoppers. He rendered these pieces in a combination of metal — most often brass — and such elemental materials as leather, knobby wood and animal horn, creating forms that could be almost Surrealist, from hands and feet to keys, birds and amoebae.
As a boy, Auböck was precocious and artistic. He studied drawing and at the same time trained in the workshop of his father, Karl Heinrich Auböck, a popular maker of traditional bronze figurines and collectibles. In 1919, Carl II went to Germany to study at the Bauhaus, where he was a pupil of the progressive artist and theorist Johannes Itten. While the Bauhaus is most associated with the rigidly ordered, functionalist architecture of its directors Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the school was in reality a liberal, spirited place — a crucible for imaginative, playful and avant-garde art and design. It was this spirit that imbued Carl II’s work from the time he left in 1921.
In 1922 or ’23, Carl Auböck II returned to Vienna to help care for his ailing father, and he took over the business. He created the Werkstätte Carl Auböck and a legacy that earned his objects cult status among collectors. The business was passed on to his descendants, who run the atelier that is still in operation today. Today, objects designed by Carl II make up 90 percent of Werkstätte Carl Auböck’s production, joined by the creations of architect and designer Carl IV, his grandson.
Vintage Auböck designs have a special character, a patina that only emphasizes how much the pieces have been loved and used. Carl Aubock II’s small furniture items — leather- or caned-sling magazine racks; free-edge wooden side tables with tubular bronze legs; wicker serving trolleys with turned beechwood wheels — are elegant and purposeful. His bijoux desktop objects, library tools, ashtrays and barware pieces evince a kind of mirthful practicality. They seem to ask: “If you need a corkscrew, or a paperweight, or a candlestick, why not make it fun as well as functional?” And indeed, why not?
Find a collection of vintage Werkstätte Carl Auböck mirrors, seating, tables, decorative objects and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Finding the Right Decorative Objects for You
Every time you move into a house or an apartment — or endeavor to refresh the home you’ve lived in for years — life for that space begins anew. The right home accent, be it the simple placement of a decorative bowl on a shelf or a ceramic vase for fresh flowers, can transform an area from drab to spectacular. But with so many materials and items to choose from, it’s easy to get lost in the process. The key to styling with antique and vintage decorative objects is to work toward making a happy home that best reflects your personal style.
Ceramics are a versatile addition to any home. If you’ve amassed an assortment of functional pottery over the years, think of your mugs and salad bowls as decorative objects, ideal for displaying in a glass cabinet. Vintage ceramic serveware can pop along white open shelving in your dining area, while large stoneware pitchers paired with woven baskets or quilts in an open cupboard can introduce a rustic farmhouse-style element to your den.
Translucent decorative boxes or bowls made of an acrylic plastic called Lucite — a game changer in furniture that’s easy to clean and lasts long — are modern accents that are neutral enough to dress up a coffee table or desktop without cluttering it. If you’re showcasing pieces from the past, a vintage jewelry box for displaying your treasures can spark conversation: Where is the jewelry box from? Is there a story behind it?
Abstract sculptures or an antique vessel for your home library can draw attention to your book collection and add narrative charm to the most appropriate of corners. There’s more than one way to style your bookcases, and decorative objects add a provocative dynamic. “I love magnifying glasses,” says Alex Assouline, global vice president of luxury publisher Assouline, of adding one’s cherished objects to a home library. “They are both useful and decorative. Objects really elevate libraries and can also make them more personal.”
To help with personalizing your space and truly making it your own, find an extraordinary collection of decorative objects on 1stDibs.