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.
Large Desk / Table Lamp by Michael Powolny at Loetz, 1910s
By Michael Powolny
Located in Saint-Amans-des-Cots, FR
Swiveling desk / table lamp by Michael Powolny at Loetz, Bohemia, 1910s. Large double glass orange shade with three purple/black applications. Superb swiveling chiseled bronze base. ...
Bronze
$8,150
H 39.38 in W 23.63 in D 15.75 in
Monumental Art Nouveau table lamp by Paul Aichele, goddess Athena, Germany 1910s
Located in Forserum, SE
A large and highly impressive Art Nouveau table or floor lamp by the German sculptor Paul Aichele (1859–1920), produced in the 1910s. Crafted in finely cast bronze, the piece is cent...
Bronze
$1,528Sale Price / set|25% Off
H 24.02 in Dm 11.03 in
Pair of Dutch Art Nouveau–Art Deco Hand-Painted Faience Table Lamps, 1910s
By Arnhemsche Fayencefabriek, Amitābha Studio
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Pair of Dutch Art Nouveau-Art Deco faience table lamps, Arnhemsche Fayencefabriek, Netherlands, circa 1910–1917. A matched pair from a specific and short-lived moment in Dutch cerami...
Brass
Large Michael Taylor Stone Table Lamp
Located in New York, NY
Large Michael Taylor fluted table lamp of rough-hewn stone The lamp has been Newly rewired with an antique Bronze double cluster, and has a matching stone finial. There are minor c...
Stone, Metal
$745Sale Price|20% Off
H 16.54 in W 9.85 in D 15.75 in
Antique Green Enamel Banker's Lamp, Germany 1910s
Located in Beograd, RS
In this listing you will find a stunning Antique Banker's lamp in green enamel. Unlike the typical modern banker's lamps that feature brass bases and green glass shades, this specifi...
Enamel, Steel
$7,917
H 28.35 in Dm 15.75 in
Danish Art Nouveau Large Table in Black Terracotta with Cats, L. Hjort, 1910s
By Lauritz Adolph Hjorth
Located in Odense, DK
An exceptional and sculptural Danish Art Nouveau table lamp by L. Hjort, dating from the 1910s. This striking piece is crafted in richly toned black terracotta and features a beautif...
Terracotta
1910s Antique Student Desk Lamp with Racing Green Glass Shade
Located in Reading, Berkshire
Antique Student Desk Lamp With Racing Green Glass Shade. Shade is adjustable by height to offer different positions for reading or writing.
Brass
$2,095 / set
H 12.6 in W 4.73 in D 11.03 in
Set of Two Decorative Art Nouveau Bronze Cobra Table Lamps 1910s
Located in München, BY
Set of two rare and highly decorative Art Nouveau bronze cobra table lamps. Made around 1910s / 1920s in France. Executed in brass, bronze and glass, each table lamps come with 1 x ...
Brass, Bronze
1910s Cold-Painted Orientalist Bronze Table Lamp by Franz Bergmann, Austria
By Franz Bergmann, Nam Greb
Located in North Miami, FL
1910s Jugendstil cold-painted orientalist bronze sculptural table lamp by Franz Bergmann/Nam Greb, Austria By: Franz Bergmann, Nam Greb Material: bronze, copper, tin, metal, paint T...
Metal, Bronze, Copper, Tin
Art Nouveau Table Lamp, 1910s, Restored
Located in Praha, CZ
Beautiful Art Nouveau table lamp. Completely restored, brass refinished Rewired. 1x40W, E25-E27 bulb US plug adapter included.
Brass
Jugenstil Table Lamp, Vienna, Around 1910s
Located in Wien, Au
Jugenstil table lamp Vienna around 1910s. Brass polished and stove enamelled. Opal glass shade. Glass sticks are replaced (new).
Brass
$1,222
H 20.08 in Dm 11.82 in
Jugendstil Table lamp with opal glass shade and glass sticks vienna around 1910s
Located in Wien, Au
Jugendstil Table lamp with opal glass shade and glass sticks vienna around 1910s Brass polished and stove enameled Original opal glass shade The glass sticks are replaced ( new )
Brass
$3,260
H 18.9 in W 8.67 in D 11.03 in
Rare & Elegant Art Nouveau Desk Light or Table Lamp 'Rein Licht' 1910s Germany
Located in München, BY
Extremely rare and elegant Art Nouveau desk light or table lamp. Designed and manufactured probably in early 1900s in Germany. Signed on the base: Rein Licht. Executed in enameled m...
Metal