Franz Josef Altenburg Ceramic Art Vase, Austria, 1980s

A beautifully shaped vase/vessel by Franz Josef Altenburg (Austria, 1941–2021), dated to the 1980s. Handmade from red-brown ceramic with a light green to beige glaze. In very condition. Stamped on the bottom. Measures 3.5 x 2 inches, height 4.75 inches.


On the recommendation of ceramicist Gudrun Baudisch-Wittke, who was a friend of his parents, Altenburg studied from 1958 to 1962 at the Kunstgewerbeschule Graz under Hans Adametz, Rudolf Szyszkowitz, and Rudolf Spohn. He then worked from 1962 to 1964 and again from 1966 to 1968 in Baudisch’s "Hallstätter Keramik" workshop. In 1965/66, he attended the ceramics school in Faenza as a guest student and passed the master craftsman’s examination in the pottery trade in 1967. In 1968, he spent three months studying with the renowned Swiss ceramicist Jean Claude de Crousaz in Geneva, after which he left "Hallstätter Keramik." Following a brief period at "Fessler Keramik" in Vienna, he was invited by Johannes von Hohenberg in 1969 to join the Gmundner Keramik company. There, he became part of the "Gruppe H" (standing for Hallstatt Keramik/Hohenberg), alongside Gudrun Baudisch-Wittke, Anton Raidel, Wolfgang von Wersin, Waltraud Setz, Walter Stoißer, and Peter Mairinger. Until 1992, Altenburg created unique ceramic pieces for the Gruppe H shop in Salzburg (which existed from 1969 to 2003) and designed models for Gmundner Keramik's serial production. From 1978 onwards, he also worked independently in his farmhouse in Breitenschützing, which eventually became his main place of life and work.