"Dragon Compotes, " Rare Mid-Century Chinese Zodiac Centrepieces by Thorpe
About the Item
- Creator:Dorothy Thorpe (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 11 in (27.94 cm)Diameter: 10 in (25.4 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:Resin,Cast
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1940s
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Philadelphia, PA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU86518415533
Dorothy Thorpe
Dorothy Thorpe glassware was a chic staple of every mid-century modern wet bar, paricularly her festive Roly Poly silver-banded tumblers. Although not as widely known as such contemporaries as Eva Zeisel and Edith Heath, Thorpe was one of a group of creative and entrepreneurial women whose designs captured the imagination of the postwar homeowner with her modern and festive designs.
Thorpe was born in Salt Lake City in 1901 and settled in Los Angeles as a young woman. She began creating her signature glassware using the trade name Dorothy Thorpe Originals in the 1930s. Thorpe was a designer, not a glassblower. To create her shimmering wares, she purchased glass blanks from a variety of manufacturers and subjected them to various techniques, including sandblasting, etching and silver overlay. Initially Art Deco in style, the pieces were signed with a large T and smaller D. Thorpe also worked in ceramics and, in the 1940s, with Lucite, producing a line of household items, such as magazine racks, sculptural lamps, candlesticks and umbrella stands.
After World War II, Thorpe was inspired by the new interest in the flowers and animals of the South Pacific to begin incorporating tropical floral motifs into her work. She traveled to Hawaii and studied local irises, roses, azaleas, narcissus and eucalyptus. The decorative patterns based on these studies were created primarily by sandblasting, which makes a glass surface appear frosted. From the 1930s through the ’50s, Thorpe’s designs won her many fans among the members of café society, including Princess Grace of Monaco and the Shah of Iran. They were also widely imitated. Vintage tumblers that bear a silver stripe around the rim but lack the “DT” signature on the bottom are not Thorpe originals.
In the 1950s, Thorpe created the glassware line Atomic Splash, which featured the energetic geometric patterns that were so popular at the time. Atomic Splash patterned drinking glasses and serving dishes bore a silver overlay that evoked an explosion. She also designed a line of ceramic tableware decorated with a wreath of spring flowers in collaboration with Crown Lynn Pottery, in New Zealand, and, in the mid-’60s, created coffee sets for the Santa Barbara and Monterey companies. Among her own ceramics products were lines glazed iin the eye-catching shades Orange Persimmon and Blue Periwinkle.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Philadelphia, PA
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- "Bacchus Bowl, " Brilliant Swedish Art Deco Wine Punch '"Punsch"' Bowl Dated 1943By Carl-Harry StålhaneLocated in Philadelphia, PABrilliantly glazed in vivid shades of cerulean, lilac, rich yellow and purple, this punsch bowl decorated with Bacchus figures, grapes and pitchers of wine was designed and executed ...Category
Vintage 1940s Swedish Art Deco Serving Bowls
MaterialsPorcelain
- Art Deco Compote with Nude Male Caryatids, Oscar Bach Bronze with Lustre GlassBy Oscar Bruno BachLocated in Philadelphia, PAStunning in design and execution, this large Art Deco compote is composed of a bronze base featuring a group of nude male caryatids supporting a gorge...Category
Vintage 1920s American Art Deco Centerpieces
MaterialsBronze
- Rare Vienna Secessionist Ceramic Lidded Jar by Willi RussBy Willi Russ, KarauLocated in Philadelphia, PACharming and sensuous at the same time, this finely detailed lidded jar by Willi Russ for the Karau ceramic works in Vienna is alive with detail, including ...Category
Early 20th Century Austrian Centerpieces
MaterialsCeramic
- Rare Large Art Deco Centerpiece by Winterhalder Made in Cupertino, CA, 1947By Erwin WinterhalderLocated in Philadelphia, PABrilliantly glazed in chartreuse-yellow and Mediterranean blue-green, this unique and important Art Deco bowl was made by Erwin Winterhalder in Cupertino. The artist was born in Swit...Category
Vintage 1940s American Art Deco Centerpieces
MaterialsCeramic
- Rare "Nude and Dove" Serving Bowl from Vallauris, 1940sLocated in Philadelphia, PABeautifully composed and gorgeously glazed in jet black and sky blue tones, this rare serving bowl was created by one of the artists producing high quality ceramic ware in the potter...Category
Vintage 1940s French Art Deco Serving Bowls
MaterialsCeramic
- "Epergne with Squirrel Motif, " Art Deco Sculptural Centerpiece by Oscar BachBy Oscar Bruno BachLocated in Philadelphia, PABoth high style and highly rare, this centerpiece or epergne surmounted by a silvered bronze squirrel was created by the celebrated Oscar Bach studio in New York. Oscar Bach was, along with Samuel Yellin, one of America's premier metalworkers in the 1920s and 1930s. He crafted enormous metal sculptures designed by Hildreth Meière...Category
Vintage 1930s American Art Deco Centerpieces
MaterialsMetal
- Pair of 19th Century French Silvered Bronze Compotes Signed ChristofleBy ChristofleLocated in Dallas, TXDecorate a dining table or a buffet with this elegant pair of antique compotes. Crafted in France circa 1860 by renowned silversmith Christofle Company, each piece stands on three hoof feet over a grape and vine decorated base. The removable round plateau with scalloped edge sits on a pierced three branch with center bird nest top, decorated with foliage and acorns. One centerpiece features a bird defending her egg nest...Category
Antique Mid-19th Century French Centerpieces
MaterialsSilver Plate, Bronze
- Serving Bowl by Franciscan Fine ChinaBy Franciscan China 1Located in San Diego, CAMidcentury serving bowl by Franciscan Fine China. The color is gray-green with stylized tree line in center. Off-white color throughout the botto...Category
20th Century North American Centerpieces
MaterialsPorcelain
- Mid-Century Burgundy Lucite Italian "Napkin" Centerpiece or Serving Bowl, 1980sBy GuzziniLocated in Roma, ITWonderful centrepiece in an elegant dark vibrant red Lucite with a white base. This amazing item was produced in Recanati, Italy, during the 1980s and is attributed to Guzzini, the m...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Centerpieces
MaterialsAcrylic, Lucite, Plexiglass
- 19th Century Chinese Export Solid Silver Bowl on Stand, Wang Hing, c.1890By Wang Hing & Co.Located in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent19th century Chinese solid silver decorative fruit bowl, of traditional round form, with a shaped arched rim, standing on four spreading feet, ...Category
Antique 19th Century Chinese Serving Bowls
MaterialsSilver
- Mid Century Modern Signed Schneider Large Bubble Glass Centerpiece Bowl 1950sBy Charles SchneiderLocated in Montreal, QCBeautiful clear Schneider Art Glass with captured bubbles large and heavy centerpiece bowl. Thousands of bubbles suspended in clear crystal! Etched SCHNEIDER FRANCE on the bottom; ci...Category
Vintage 1950s French Minimalist Centerpieces
MaterialsBlown Glass
- Mid-century Wooden Leaf CentrepieceLocated in Milano, ITRare solid wood centrepiece designed and produced in the 1950s in Italy. The bowl is made of very elegant polished wood and has a rectangular shape re...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Serving Bowls
MaterialsWood