Gmundner Keramik Sage Green Sgraffito Gazelle Stoneware Vase

Gmundner Keramik, founded in 1492 in Gmunden, Austria, is one of the oldest continuously operating ceramic manufacturers in the world, and this sage green sgraffito vase, with its incised leaping gazelles among stylised foliage, is a strong example of the Austrian studio's mid-century decorative output at its most refined.

Made by Gmundner Keramik of Austria in the mid-century period, this stoneware vase features a matte sage green glaze with sgraffito decoration: leaping gazelles incised through the glaze to reveal the clay body beneath, surrounded by stylised foliage and fauna. The sgraffito technique, in which decoration is scratched through a surface layer to reveal a contrasting colour beneath, is one of the oldest ceramic decorating methods, and Gmundner Keramik's application of it to the mid-century modernist aesthetic produces a result that is both technically accomplished and visually distinctive. The sculptural hourglass form and softly textured surface give the piece a calm, considered presence. The Gmundner Keramik mark is present to the base.

• Maker: Gmundner Keramik, Austria
• Dimensions: 23 cm (H) x 14 cm (W)
• Condition: Excellent, visible condition as shown in images
• Features: Matte sage green glaze, sgraffito leaping gazelle decoration, stylised foliage, hourglass form
• Period: Mid-century
• SKU: CBD-0103

A refined piece of mid-century Austrian studio ceramics from one of Europe's oldest pottery traditions. Suits collectors of Gmundner Keramik, European studio ceramics, or sgraffito decorated pottery.