Carl Auböck Mid-Century Patinated Leather Paper Basket, Austria, 1950s
View Similar Items
Carl Auböck Mid-Century Patinated Leather Paper Basket, Austria, 1950s
About the Item
- Creator:Werkstätte Carl Auböck (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 0.4 in (1 cm)Width: 0.4 in (1 cm)Depth: 0.4 in (1 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Vienna, AT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU5244236692782
Werkstätte Carl Auböck
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.
- Carl Auböck Mid-Century Brass Umbrella Stand, Austria, 1950sBy Werkstätte Carl AuböckLocated in Vienna, ATA straight and beautiful Austrian umbrella stand, made of brass and cast iron. Designed and executed by Carl Auböck. A sophisticated piece, one of the most beautiful umbrella...Category
20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Umbrella Stands
MaterialsBrass, Iron
- Carl Auböck Midcentury Patinated Brass Wall Coat Hooks, 1950s, AustriaBy Werkstätte Carl Auböck, Carl AuböckLocated in Biebergemund, HessenBeautiful Austrian Mid-Century Modern solid brass hook by Carl Auböck II. Made of polished and patinated solid brass and come with the original brass screws. The same hooks were sold...Category
Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Coat Racks and Stands
MaterialsBrass
- Carl Auböck Vintage Mid-Century Modern Brass Bookstand, 1950s, AustriaBy Werkstätte Carl AuböckLocated in Vienna, ATA Carl Auböck vintage Mid-Century Modern brass bookstand model no. 3606, which was designed 1950s, Vienna. The bookstand shows beautiful brass patina...Category
Vintage 1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Magazine Racks and Stands
MaterialsBrass
- Carl Auböck Ten Midcentury Patinated Brass Wall Coat Hooks, 1950s, AustriaBy Werkstätte Carl Auböck, Carl AuböckLocated in Biebergemund, HessenTen beautiful Austrian Mid-Century Modern solid brass hooks by Carl Auböck II from 1950s. They are made of polished and patinated solid brass. The same hooks were sold at an auction...Category
Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Coat Racks and Stands
MaterialsBrass
- Carl Auböck Eight Midcentury Patinated Brass Wall Coat Hooks, 1950s, AustriaBy Werkstätte Carl Auböck, Carl AuböckLocated in Biebergemund, HessenEight beautiful Austrian Mid-Century Modern solid brass hooks by Carl Auböck II from 1950s. They are made of polished and patinated solid brass. The same hooks were sold at an aucti...Category
Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Coat Racks and Stands
MaterialsBrass
$3,517 / setFree Shipping - Carl Auböck Six Midcentury Patinated Brass Wall Coat Hooks, 1950s, AustriaBy Werkstätte Carl AuböckLocated in Biebergemund, HessenBeautiful Austrian Mid-Century Modern solid brass hooks by Carl Auböck II from 1950s. They are made of patinated solid brass with polished details. This set is in excellent original ...Category
Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Coat Racks and Stands
MaterialsBrass
