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.
Michael Powolny for Loetz Tango Piped Art Glass Bowl
By Michael Powolny
Located in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire
A striking and impressive Loetz quality Tango art glass hand-blown bowl piped with a black glass rim and legs by renowned Austrian Sculptor, Ceramist and Des...
Blown Glass
Art Nouveau designer Michael Powolny for Loetz Witwe glass bowl around 1910s
By Johann Lötz Witwe, Michael Powolny
Located in Bingen am Rhein, RP
Art Nouveau designer Michael Powolny for Loetz Witwe glass bowl, 1910s The beautiful small glass bowl by Michale Powolny is in good condition. This item is an original from his time...
Glass
Michael Powolny Art Nouveau glass footed bowl for Loetz/Bohemian glass Czech.
By Michael Powolny, Bohemia Crystal
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Beautiful solid green glass and dark blue rim footed bowl . Traditional style for Michael Powolny .
Glass
$745 / set
H 3.94 in Dm 8.08 in
1970s Set of Pitchers and Bowl in Glass by Michael Bang for Holmegaard
By Holmegaard, Michael Bang
Located in Knebel, DK
Set of two pitchers and a bowl in dusty yellow, designed by Michael Bang and produced by Holmegaard in the 1970s. The well designed set with it´s 1970´s colors is in very good con...
Glass
1900s Art Nouveau Mild Iridescent Green Sea Urchin Vase, Loetz Witwe
By Johann Lötz Witwe
Located in Andernach, DE
Absolutely marvellous antique vase in a very mildly iridescent green, attributed to Loetz Witwe. Bohemia around 1900. This small sea urchin and equally floral shaped vase is somewhat...
Art Glass
Loetz Art Nouveau vase whit Details of Irradiated glass 1900s
By Loetz Glass
Located in Verviers, BE
Beautifully decorated whit Irradiated glass Rare to find with original condition The piece is in good condition and a real beauty! Photography fails to capture the simple elega...
Art Glass
$760Sale Price|20% Off
H 11.25 in W 5 in D 5 in
Art Nouveau Rindskopf Pulled Feather Czech Bohemian Art Glass Loetz Style Vase
By Loetz Glass, Josef Rindskopf’s Söhne
Located in San Diego, CA
Stunning Art Nouveau Czech Bohemian iridescent pulled feather art glass vase by Josef Rindskopf, circa early 1900s. The vase has wonderful color and design. Green clear glass body wi...
Art Glass
$275
H 1 in W 8.75 in D 7.25 in
Small Trapezoid Shaped Fused Art Glass Bowl by Michael & Frances Higgins
By Higgins Glass
Located in San Diego, CA
Small trapezoid shaped fused art glass atomic age bowl by Michael & Frances Higgins, circa 1950s. The piece is executed in the fused glass technique by the Higgins Studio and has a g...
Art Glass
Loetz Art Nouveau vase whit Colered Details of Irradiated glass 1900s
By Loetz Glass
Located in Verviers, BE
Loetz Art Nouveau vase whit Colered Details of Irradiated glass 1900s Beautifully decorated whit Irradiated glass Rare to find with original condition The piece is in good conditio...
Art Glass
Art Glass Vase. Style Johann Loetz Witwe, Klostermühle, around 1930s.
By Loetz Glass
Located in Verviers, BE
Glass vases. Loetz. Johann Loetz Witwe, Klostermühle, Around 1930s. Colorless glass with soda fusions in the intermediate layer. Loetz Art Nouveau Vase Rare to find with original c...
Art Glass
$24,072Sale Price|30% Off
H 14.97 in Dm 5.91 in
Important Vase Art Nouveau by Moritz Hacker and Johann Loetz Witwe, 1900s
By Moritz Hacker, Johann Lötz Witwe
Located in Casale Monferrato, IT
Important vase for museum display from the full Art Nouveau period. A large handled vase made of Bohemian glass with metal mount decoration in relief and chiselled in Art Nouveau sty...
Metal
Large Fused Art Glass Atomic Age Bowl by Michael & Frances Higgins
By Higgins Glass
Located in San Diego, CA
Large fused art glass atomic age bowl by Michael & Frances Higgins, circa 1950s. The piece is executed in the fused glass technique by the Higgins Studio and has a great atomic desig...
Art Glass
Michael Aram Black Orchid Bowl
By Michael Aram
Located in Clifton Springs, NY
Elegant steel bowl features striking nickel-plated handle formed by long twisting stem of flowering orchid draped around the bowl. The dark color and organic, natural, Art Deco style...
Stainless Steel
$59
H 5.5 in W 8 in D 8 in
Vintage Marquis Waterford Red 8" Tango Footed Mid Century Modern Glass Bowl
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Vintage Marquis Waterford Red 8" Tango Footed Mid Century Modern Glass Bowl. Circa Mid 20th Century. Measurements: 5.5" H x 8" W x 8" D.
Glass
Loetz Art Nouveau Vide Poch Whit Details of Irradiated Glass, 1900s
By Loetz Glass
Located in Verviers, BE
Loetz Art Nouveau Vide Poch whit details of irradiated glass 1900s Beautifully decorated whit Irradiated glass Rare to find with original condition The piece is in good condition and a real beauty...
Art Glass
Sold
H 6.89 in W 6.7 in D 4.34 in
'Donauweibchen', Danube Mermaid Box, Michael Powolny, Vienna Ceramics, 1910-1912
By Michael Powolny
Located in Vienna, AT
Oval, straight-sided lidded box on four ball feet, with a slightly domed lid featuring a fully sculpted group of figures: the naked 'Danube Maiden', the legendary Danube mermaid, emb...
Ceramic
Sold
H 6.7 in W 12.01 in D 6.11 in
Ceramic Writing Set 'Till Eulenspiegel' by Michael Powolny, Austria, 1919
By Michael Powolny
Located in Vienna, AT
Till Eulenspiegel in a brown-red jester's costume with bells, sitting with outstretched legs on a rectangular flat base plate, an owl between his feet and a low, four-sided inkwell w...
Ceramic
Ceramic Inkwell With Putti by Michael Powolny, Vienna Ceramics, 1910-1912
By Michael Powolny
Located in Vienna, AT
Delicate Art Nouveau ceramic piece: Cylindrical vessel with an openwork relief of running putti, in between colourfully glazed flower bouquets and golden cornucopias with blossoms, t...
Ceramic
Sold
H 6.3 in Dm 11.03 in
Art Nouveau Ceramic Centerpiece With Three Putti by Michael Powolny Vienna, 1919
By Michael Powolny
Located in Vienna, AT
Three standing nude putti with floral decorations and yellow draperies carrying a shallow round bowl. Without base. By Michael Powolny (1871 - 1954) Nowadays, art experts attest Mic...
Ceramic
Michael Powolny Loetz Tango Piped Orange Pedestal Glass Bowl, circa 1914
By Michael Powolny
Located in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire
A stylish Michael Powolny cased tango orange glass pedestal bowl with black piping and stem made by Loetz. The hand blown bowl stands on a rounded pedestal foot with a short 'black' ...
Art Glass, Blown Glass