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.
Pen Holder in Horn by Werkstätte Carl Auböck Austria 1960s
By Werkstätte Carl Auböck
Located in Berlin, DE
Pen holder made from polished natural horn, slightly tapering towards the base and retaining the organic curvature of the original material. The translucent surface shows characteris...
Horn
Mid-Century Modern Brass & Horn Lighter by Werkstätte Carl Auböck
By Werkstätte Carl Auböck
Located in Berlin, DE
Carl Auböck Lighter, Austria 1960s.
Brass
Aorta Vase #3794 by Werkstätte Carl Auböck, Patinated Brass
By Werkstätte Carl Auböck
Located in Berlin, DE
Aorta vase #3794 by Carl Auböck in patinated brass.
Brass
Collar Vase by Werkstätte Carl Auböck, Polished Brass, Austria, 2022
By Werkstätte Carl Auböck
Located in Berlin, DE
Carl Auböck #3975 "Collar" vase, Austria, 2022.
Brass
Carl Auböck Brass Nutcracker, Mid-Century Modern, Austria, 1960s
By Werkstätte Carl Auböck
Located in Berlin, DE
Brass nutcracker by Werkstätte Carl Auböck with curved handles and ribbed detailing near the hinge. Sculptural mid-century design with warm patina and light surface wear from age and...
Brass
Nutcracker with Cane-Wrapped Handles by Werkstätte Carl Auböck, Austria
By Werkstätte Carl Auböck
Located in Berlin, DE
This hand nutcracker by Werkstätten Carl Auböck combines solid cast metal with tightly wrapped cane handles, transforming a simple kitchen tool into a sculptural object. The oval c...
Brass
Beautiful Carl Aubock Mid-Century Horn Pepper Or Salt Mill, Austria, 1950s
By Werkstätte Carl Auböck
Located in Vienna, AT
A beautiful and elegant modernist pepper- or salt mill, made of cow horn, designed and executed by Carl Aubock in the 1950s. In very good condition, marginal...
Metal
French Mid-Century Olive Wood Pepper Mill with Brass Finial, 1950s
Located in SOTTEVILLE-LÈS-ROUEN, FR
A refined example of french mid-century tableware, this pepper mill is crafted from beautifully turned olive wood, showcasing the species’ distinctive, expressive grain. Its elegant,...
Brass
Brutalist Pepper Mill - Olive Wood and Brass Pepper Grinder - France 1960s
By Werkstätte Carl Auböck
Located in ROUEN, Normandie
Brutalist Pepper Mill - Olive Wood and Brass Pepper Grinder - France 1960s Very sculptural pepper grinder made of olive wood and brass. Its free-form design makes it a striking pie...
Brass
Spanish Mid-Century Olive Wood Pepper Mill with Brass Finial, 1950s
Located in SOTTEVILLE-LÈS-ROUEN, FR
A refined example of spanish mid-century tableware, this pepper mill is crafted from beautifully turned olive wood, showcasing the species’ distinctive, expressive grain. Its elegant...
Brass
Salt Shaker and Pepper Mill in Rosewood and Brass, Italy, 1970's
Located in BARCELONA, ES
Elevate your table with this exquisite 1970s Italian duo: a sleek salt shaker and hand-crank pepper mill, crafted in warm rosewood bases and gleaming brass tops. Conical forms exude ...
Brass
Sven Petersen Pepper Grinder SAAP Wenge & Brass 1960s
By Hans Hansen, Jens Quistgaard
Located in Basel, BS
Pepper grinder designed by Sven Aage Petersen for SAAP, Denmark in the 1960s. Petersen was a perfectionist in wood turning, each of his pieces has been crafted in his workshop with ...
Brass
In his workshop in Vienna, the fourth-generation artisan crafts the most covetable creations.
His two gallery spaces in the German capital bring together thousands of pieces ranging from mid-century classics and Murano glass to covetable reproductions manufactured in-house.
