Walter Bosse, Orange Rabbit, Austrian Art Deco Ceramic Sculpture, Ca. 1930

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Walter Bosse, Orange Rabbit, Austrian Art Deco Ceramic Sculpture, Ca. 1930

About the Item

ABOUT ARTIST Walter Bosse (Austrian, 1904 – 1979) was a Viennese artist, designer, ceramist, potter, metalworker, and craftsman noted for his modernist bronze animal figurines and grotesques. Walter Bosse was the son of artists Luise and Julius Bosse. His father worked as a portrait painter at the imperial court. Walter Bosse attended the Wiener Kunstgewerbeschule, now the University of Applied Arts Vienna from 1918 to 1921, where he studied ceramics under Michael Powolny, and ornament under Franz Cizek. He then attended the Munich School of Applied Arts (Münchner Kunstgewerbeschule). During his schooling he was given the opportunity to sell his work at the Wienner Werkstatte by Josef Hoffman, who became a mentor to Bosse. Bosse opened his own shop in Kufstein, in 1923. Bosse's work grew in popularity and a number of his pieces were shown at the International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts in 1925. He started designing for Augarten Porcelain Works (1924), as well as Goldscheider (1926) and Metler and Orloff (1927). In 1931, to meet increasing demand (especially in America), Bosse opened up a bigger shop in Kufstein, but by 1933 he started to feel the effects of the economic depression. By 1937, the Kufstein works were closed. In 1938, now divorced, Bosse moved back to Vienna, where he founded Bosse Ceramics (Bosse-Keramik), which expanded under the new name “Terra” to include glass, toys, textiles and a variety of craft items for the gift market. In the late 1940s, Bosse began experimenting with brass by giving his ceramic figures a metal coating to protect them from breakage. He formed a partnership with Herta baller, whose company (the Herta Baller Company) manufactured and marketed the brass figurines, this collaboration was called the Bosse/Baller company. In the early 1950s, Bosse and Baller began exploring a new style of brass called the “Black Gold Line” or "Black Golden Line" of brass figurines. He transitioned all of his efforts to brass and the figures became popular worldwide. Despite Bosse's success with his brass figures, it was still a difficult time for him financially. In 1953, partly fleeing from financial troubles, he moved to Iserholm, Germany where he set up a new shop and continued production. In Vienna, the Herta Baller Company continued to make and sell Bosse's designs. Bosse also collaborated with Karlsruhe State Majolika Works on a number of pottery animal figures.] In 1958, he designed for Achatit Schirmer in Cologne. Bosse also turned his efforts to small, everyday items such as letter openers, keyrings, corkscrews, and pencil holders, all of which bear the distinctive "black and gold" look. A number of Bosse's designs began to gain widespread popularity internationally, particularly his brass hedgehog ashtrays and hand-shaped bowls. But the designs' success led to forgeries popping up worldwide. His hedgehog ashtrays were reproduced by many forgers in various countries and with varying degrees of precision. To protect his designs, he engaged in court battles which would last the rest of his life and deplete most of his money. Because of these cases, he is considered to be a seminal figure relating to modern copyright law for designer goods. The last years of Bosse's life saw him devoting much of his time and money to his legal disputes and on December 13, 1979, Bosse died with no money to his name in Iserlohn, Germany. His oeuvre consists of about 8,000 models and designs, of which about 3,000 are ceramics. DIMENSIONS Height: 8 inches Width: 5 inches Depth: 8 inches.

Creator:
Walter Bosse (Sculptor)
Dimensions:
Height: 8 in (20.32 cm)Width: 5 in (12.7 cm)Depth: 8 in (20.32 cm)
Style:
Art Deco (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Ceramic,Painted
Place of Origin:
Austria
Period:
1930-1939
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1930
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. We make our best effort to provide a fair and descriptive condition report. Please examine photos attentively, as they are an integral part of the description. Send us a message to request more details or discuss price.
Seller Location:
New York, NY
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU2819330012832

Shop All Walter Bosse

Walter Bosse

Credited with thousands of works and models for ceramic pieces, Walter Bosse was an intensely prolific designer. The modernist Austrian sculptor and ceramist was best known for his distinctive “Black Golden” series of decorative objects and figurines, particularly his hedgehog ashtrays. Bosse’s mid-century and Art Deco works were popular as gifts for politicians and royalty worldwide, remaining coveted among collectors today.

Bosse was born in Vienna in 1904 to artist parents — his father, Julius, was a portrait painter for the Austrian Imperial Court. Bosse studied at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna from 1918 to 1921 under Austrian sculptor Michael Powolny and Austrian painter Franz Cizek. Later, he continued at the Munich School of Applied Arts in Germany under Austrian architect and designer Josef Hoffmann, a founder of the Vienna Secession.

Early in his career, Bosse worked as a designer at several ceramics manufacturers, including Augarten Porcelain Works in 1924, Goldscheider Porcelain Manufactory and Majolica Factory in 1926 and Metzler and Ortloff in 1927. In 1925, Bosse displayed several pieces at the International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts in Paris, which introduced the Art Deco style to a global audience.

In 1931, Bosse opened a shop in Kufstein, Austria, selling ceramic gift items. Owing to the crippling economic effects of the Great Depression, however, Bosse was forced to close his shop in 1937. He returned to Vienna in 1938 and opened another business, Bosse Keramik, where he sold toys, glass, textiles and more. In the late 1940s, Bosse experimented with small-scale brass sculptures and desk accessories coated in black ceramic glaze. With Austrian designer Herta Baller, Bosse formed the Bosse-Baller company to manufacture the “Black Golden” line of figurines, which became wildly popular worldwide.

Despite Bosse’s success, he struggled financially and moved to Iserlohn, Germany, in 1953. Meanwhile, Baller continued to manufacture and sell Bosse’s designs, which were so popular that forgers copied and sold counterfeit editions of Bosse’s works around the world. The 1950s marked the debut of the artist’s whimsically zoomorphic hedgehog ashtrays — these were cast in brass, and a hedgehog ashtray in any other material is not a Bosse original.

Bosse spent the rest of his life embroiled in court battles to protect his designs, leaving him penniless by the time he died. Today authentic Bosse pieces — from wall-mounted sculptures to tableware — continue to be highly sought after by collectors.

Find vintage Walter Bosse serveware, wall decorations and more on 1stDibs.