As both a designer and a teacher, the Austrian ceramicist and glassware designer Michael Powolny was an important figure in the development of modernist aesthetics in Vienna at the turn of the 20th century. His romantic sculptural pottery figures embrace the lush, dynamic stylings of Gustav Klimt and other progressive artists, while his functional pieces — such as glass bowls and vases — employ the simple linear and geometric ornamentation that marked the work of Josef Hoffmann and other members of the Wiener Werkstätte community of designers and craftsmen.
Powolny received classical training in ceramics from his father, a potter, and at the Vienna School of Applied Arts, but later joined in the modernizing movement in the Austrian arts at the close of the 19th century. In 1897, Klimt, Hoffman, Koloman Moser and other artists and architects founded the Vienna Secession, a group that fought for freedom of expression against the city’s tradition-bound arts establishment. Powolny’s work reflects the changing times. He used classical figures in his ceramics — female nudes, cherubs — yet would dress them in modern ornament such as garlands of abstract, geometric flowers. Pieces from Powolny’s ceramics company were sold through the Wiener Werkstätte (Viennese Workshops) founded by Hoffmann and Moser, and Hoffman later hired Powolny to create ceramic ornamentation for his architectural masterpiece, the Palais Stoclet in Brussels.
Powolny would go on to design glassware that combines elegant, tapering forms with precise linear decoration. His most influential work may have come as a professor at the School of Applied Arts, where he taught both Lucie Rie, the great Austrian-British modernist ceramicist, and the American potter Viktor Schreckengost, creator of the “Jazz Bowl,” an icon of the Streamline Moderne design. As you will see from the items on offer, Michael Powolny’s works have a double appeal: in their sprightly, endearing forms and as artifacts that document a period of signal change in the history of modern arts and crafts.
Original and Unique Ceramic Fountain by Otto Prutscher and Michael Powolny, 1914
By Otto Prutscher, Wiener Keramik Werkstätte, Michael Powolny
Located in Vienna, AT
Executed by Michael Powolny for the Wienerberger Keramikwerkstätten, ceramic and stoneware, ochre colored, body holding a dish in her outstretched arms standing above a three-tired C...
Ceramic, Stoneware
Large Michael Powolny Viennese Art Nouveau Secession Flower Pot, Austria, 1920s
By Michael Powolny
Located in Vienna, AT
A beautiful and big Art Nouveau pottery flower pot with green/turquoise/black glaze. Designed by the Vienna Secession artist Michael Powolny in the ...
Ceramic, Pottery
$950
H 8 in W 14 in D 9 in
Beautiful Large Portuguese Ceramic Nautilus Shell Pottery Planter Flower Pot
Located in Hopewell, NJ
Eye catching large white ceramic flower pot planter in the shape of a lovely nautilus shell.
Ceramic
Copper Mermaid Fountain by Glen Mayo
By Glen Mayo
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Whimsical fountain sculpture, of copper, by metal artist Glen Mayo; its mermaid focal point holding a leaf which cascades water down the fountain, among turtles, angel fish, other se...
Copper
Wonderful Modernist Kenetic Motion Copper Fountain / Water Feature, Hand Made
Located in Buffalo, NY
Ingenious copper fountain / water feature, solid copper construction, Modernist design Artisan made, hand executed. Sculpture in motion, great for garden, or indoor space.
Copper
$24,538
H 12.21 in W 10.63 in D 5.91 in
Meissen style porcelain and gilt bronze table fountain by Samson
Located in London, GB
This colourful porcelain table fountain, fashioned in the German Meissen style, was crafted in the 19th Century by the French porcelain company Samson et Cie. The table fountain co...
Ormolu
$2,750
H 12.75 in W 15.5 in D 22.5 in
American Giant Stone Frog with Patina, Originally Used as a Fountain
Located in Atlanta, GA
An American giant stone frog from the 20th century, with great patina. Made in the USA in 1987, this giant stone stone frog used to be a fountain (notice the remnants of a pipe below...
Stone
$1,900
H 34.25 in W 26.38 in D 7.87 in
20th Century Art Nouveau Thonet Flower Tub / Plant Stand, Bentwood, AT ca 1915
By Thonet
Located in Lichtenberg, AT
Beautiful, timeless bentwood plant stand or flower tub made by the famous company of Thonet Vienna. A unique shaped piece from the renowed company in Austria around 1915. Superbly de...
Metal
Michael Powolny Rare Pottery Pair Sparrows Figure c.1907
By Michael Powolny
Located in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire
A delightful and rare Austrian Wiener Keramik pair of pottery sparrows by renowned sculptor and ceramicist Michael Powolny (Austrian, 1871-1954) and dating from around 1907. Michael...
Pottery
$650 / item
H 12 in W 15 in D 15 in
Large Italian Bitossi Red Terracotta Cherub Putti Garden Planter Flower Pot
By Bitossi
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Large Italian Bitossi Red Terracotta Cherub Putti Garden Planter Flower Pot. Item features decorated with frieze of dancing putti carrying fruity festoons, marked with Bitossi manufa...
Terracotta
Willy Guhl Two-Piece Flower Pot
By Willy Guhl
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Unique sculptural concrete planter by Willy Guhl with 2 pieces. Base is a round disc that holds the flower pot. The large cylindrical flow...
Concrete
$2,700
H 17.5 in W 13.25 in D 10 in
Antique French Stone Fountain Piece with Triple Dolphin Spouts, Circa 1900
Located in Dallas, TX
This charming French fountain piece with triple dolphin spouts was made circa 1900. The dolphins are made from reconstituted stone, which is natural lim...
Stone
Willy Guhl Flower Pots
By Willy Guhl
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Very rare set of Willy Guhl sculptural flower planters made of cement. Great sculptural objects. Hollow and open on both ends. Perfect for placing in soil and arranging plants/flower...
Cement
Ukiyo Saucer, Concrete Fountain/Fishpond by OPIARY (D50")
By Robert Remer
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Opiary is a Brooklyn-based biophilic design and production studio. We integrate nature in each of our designs, incorporating live greenery and organic shapes into bespoke furniture, planters, and sculpture. Through the ethos of biophilia, our work reflects the shifting, yet timeless relationship between humans and nature. This modern, minimalist fountain is a tasteful way to incorporate aquatic life into any indoor or outdoor space. The Ukiyo Saucer...
Cement
Michael Powolny Viennese Art Nouveau Flower Pot
By Michael Powolny
Located in Vienna, AT
A very beautiful Art Nouveau pottery flower pot with yellow glaze. Designed by the Vienna Secession artist Michael Powolny in the 1920s. Executed by...
Pottery
Michael Powolny Viennese Art Nouveau Flower Pot
By Michael Powolny
Located in Vienna, AT
A very beautiful Art Nouveau pottery flower pot with green glaze. Designed by the Vienna Secession artist Michael Powolny in the 1920s. Executed by ...
Pottery
Michael Powolny Viennese Art Nouveau Flower Pot
By Michael Powolny
Located in Vienna, AT
A very beautiful and big Art Nouveau pottery flower pot with yellow glaze. Designed by the Vienna Secession artist Michael Powolny in the 1920s. Exe...
Pottery
Michael Powolny Viennese Art Nouveau Flower Pot
By Michael Powolny
Located in Vienna, AT
A very beautiful and big Art Nouveau pottery flower pot with light blue glaze. Designed by the Vienna Secession artist Michael Powolny in the 1920s...
Pottery