Henry Petzal (August 16, 1906^[1] – March 15, 2002)^[1] was an American silversmith. He did not begin silversmithing until 1957 at the age of 50.^[2]

Henry Petzal was born on August 16, 1906, in Berlin.^[3] He came to the United States as a German refugee in 1935, settling in Shrewsbury, New Jersey.^[3] For many years he worked in the textile industry.^[3]

In 1963, he started taking classes at New York City YMCA on Fiftieth Street, where he studied with Rudolph Schumacher, William Seitz.^[3] And he took classes the Craft Students League, he learned from Adda Husted Andersen.^[3] His greatest inspiration in his designs was Chinese ceramics. He designed and hand-raised every piece.

His works are held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,^[3] the Chicago Museum of Fine Arts, the Silversmith's Museum in London, England. The largest collection is at the Mingei Museum in San Diego,^[3] and the Mingei International Museum.^[4]