Franz Josef Altenburg’s family history may hark back to the glorious past of the House of Habsburg, but the ceramicist’s art was far ahead of his time.

Franz Josef Altenburg, great-grandson of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth, loved talking to fans of Bob Dylan. He also allowed visitors to his traditional farmhouse in Breitenschützing, Upper Austria, to touch his ceramic artworks, not just look at them. Altenburg described himself as a “potter”. In his presence, and in the presence of the objects he created, you could sense the earth, the elements of nature, and the colours.