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.
Mid-Century Modern Knife Box by Werkstätte Carl Auböck, 1960s
By Werkstätte Carl Auböck
Located in Berlin, DE
Carl Auböck Knife made of steel and horn, Austria 1960s.
Steel
Mid-Century Modern Knife Box by Werkstätte Carl Auböck, Austria, 1960s
By Werkstätte Carl Auböck
Located in Berlin, DE
Carl Auböck knife, Austria 1960s.
Steel
Set of Six Horn and Nutwood Fruit Knives by Carl Auböck
By Werkstätte Carl Auböck
Located in Vienna, AT
For sale is a set of five fruit knives with a round display block. The block is made from nutwood and cork. The knives are made from stainless steel and ...
Stainless Steel
Carl Auböck Knife with Rattan wrapped Handle Austria
By Werkstätte Carl Auböck
Located in Berlin, DE
This knife made by Carl Auböck has a straight metal blade with a handle wrapped in rattan for grip. Its design is simple and functional, without any decorative elements, focusing on ...
Metal
Set of 6 Hand-Made Italian Pattada Knives, Italy, Sardinia 1990s
Located in Roma, IT
Stunning set of six Italian Pattada knives, fully hand-made with a gorgeous mouflon horn handle and an incredibly sharp stainless steel blade. These extraordinary knives were hand-ma...
Stainless Steel
$1,740 / set
H 2.37 in W 9.26 in D 6.7 in
Meat Cutting knifes, Set with Box, Polished Horn & Alpaca Silver
By AIREDELSUR
Located in Buenos Aires, AR
When we created this family, we were inspired by the laughs, anecdotes and the joy of sharing with friends and loved ones when eating an ASADO (typical Argentinean grilled roast beef). This family contains meat knives, forks, spoons, cheese knives...
Metal
Collection of 11 Sterling Fruit Knives, 1860-1890
Located in Coeur d'Alene, ID
Four with engraved mother of pearl handles, three with added nut picks, two with five hallmarks, several with names or monograms. Folding fruit knives fir...
Sterling Silver
$1,046 / set
H 1.19 in W 0.79 in D 9.85 in
Set of 12 Mid-Century Modern French Knives with Bamboo Handles
By Jacques Adnet, Maison Jansen
Located in SOTTEVILLE-LÈS-ROUEN, FR
An elegant and rare set of twelve French table knives from the 1950s, beautifully representative of post-war French design and craftsmanship. Each knife features a finely turned nat...
Stainless Steel
Pair of George III Mahogany Knife Boxes
Located in Montreal, QC
This pair have the typical shape of boxes from this period, with shaped serpentine front, sloped hinged lid, and boxwood and ebony lines. Each cover is inlaid with an oval patera and...
Mahogany
18th Century George III Mahogany Footed Knife Boxes
Located in New Orleans, LA
An exceedingly rare and important pair of George III-period mahogany knife boxes of exceptional quality and condition. The boxes are of serpentine form with refined crossbanded and c...
Serpentine
Georgian Mahogany Pair of Knife Boxes
Located in Bedfordshire, GB
A Very Good Quality, 18th century, George III Period, Mahogany Pair Of Knife, Or Cutlery, Boxes Of Typical Shape With Serpentine Fronts And Superbly Figured, Inlaid And Crossbanded Sloped Lids, Revealing Later Fabric Lined Interior Compartments. Cutlery boxes, or as they are now more commonly referred to, Knife boxes, were of course originally made with the purpose of housing the homes most precious and valuable cutlery and enable it to be locked away when not in use. This was very important as generally the cutlery used...
Mahogany
Set of Six German Stag-Handled Steak Knives by Solingen
Located in Northport, MI
A beautifully preserved early 20th-century set of six German stag-handled steak knives by Solingen, the legendary “City of Blades.” Each knife is finely cr...
Stainless Steel
$3,000
H 12 in W 8 in D 6.75 in
18th Century Continental Baroque Period Gilt Tooled Leather Clad Knife Box
Located in Forney, TX
A scarce original antique European Baroque Period tooled leather clad cutlery caddy, circa 1740 Handcrafted in Continental Europe in the first half of...
Leather, Wood
Mahogany Burl Knife Box Attributed to Theodore Alexander
By Theodore Alexander
Located in Doylestown, PA
Theodore Alexander attributed mahogany knife box. A serpentine hinged lid reveals an open interior. Beautiful box adorned with reticulated brass hardware with side drop handles and...
Mahogany
$425 / set
H 0.75 in W 11.63 in D 1.5 in
German Stainless Steel Knife Fork Carving Set Mother of Pearl Handles, Set of 3
Located in New York, NY
A fine stainless steel German carving set with mother of pearl handles, from Carl Wolfertz & Sohne, circa 20th century, Solingen, Germany. Set includes carving knife, fork, and sharpening steel...
Stainless Steel
$390
H 2 in W 8 in D 10 in
Early 20th Century Anton Wingen Jr. Solingen Germany Stag-Handled Knife Set
Located in Northport, MI
A handsome boxed set of six early 20th-century German steak knives by Anton Wingen Jr., renowned Solingen cutlers celebrated for their fine craftsmanship and decorative blade etching...
Stainless Steel
Carl Auböck Knife Holder, Wood Wicker Cork Stainless Steel, Austria, 1950s
By Werkstätte Carl Auböck
Located in Hausmannstätten, AT
A knife holder set with six knives designed by Carl Auböck, manufactured by Carl Auböck workshop in midcentury, Vienna, circa 1950. Great to accompany a cheese board or fruit course...
Brass