Walter Bosse
Walter Bosse (1904-1979) was born in Vienna, Austria as the son of a portrait painter at the imperial court. He attended the Universität für Angewandte Kunst (University of Applied Arts) from 1918 to 1921, where he studied ceramics and ornament under. He then attended the Münchner Kunstgewerbeschule (Munich School of Applied Arts). During his schooling he was given the opportunity to sell his work at the Wiener Werkstätte by Josef Hoffmann, who became a mentor to Bosse.
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, as well as Goldscheider, Metzler and Ortloff. In the late 1940s, Bosse began experimenting with brass by giving his ceramic figures a metal coating to protect them from breakage. In the early 1950s, Bosse began his “Black Golden” line of brass figurines. He also created small, everyday items such as letter openers, keyrings, corkscrews, and pencil holders, all of which bear his distinctive "black and gold" look. A number of Bosse’s designs began to gain widespread popularity internationally. He left a legacy of about 8,000 models and designs, around 3,000 in ceramic.
