Walter Bosse, Herta Baller

Austrian, 1904-1979 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 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.

Herta Baller operated a Viennese workshop and distribution company known for small decorative and functional metal objects. Her collaboration with Austrian designer Walter Bosse was especially important: Baller manufactured and marketed many of his humorous brass figures, corkscrews, ashtrays, hooks and table accessories. These pieces often combine polished brass with dark patinated surfaces in the characteristic Black Gold aesthetic.