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Swid Powell Pitchers

The New York City–based tableware company Swid Powell produced some of the most distinctive china and silver of the 1980s in collaboration with international architects and designers. It enjoyed renewed attention in 2007, when the Yale University Art Gallery mounted the exhibition “The Architect’s Table: Swid Powell and Postmodern Design,” celebrating the donation to its collection of the company’s papers.

Swid Powell was established in 1982 by Nan Swid and Addie Powell, who met while working at the modernist furniture company Knoll. Their idea was to translate the aesthetics of postmodern design from the skyscraper to the dining table, and they brought into their preliminary discussions nine prominent architects. Among these were Philip Johnson, Stanley Tigerman and Richard Meier, all of whom expressed enthusiasm about making their designs accessible beyond the small group with the funds to commission buildings from them.

The first Swid Powell collection was launched in 1984, accompanied by a bold, graphic print campaign in keeping with the era’s advertising trends. The company’s best-known collaboration was with Robert Venturi’s Philadelphia-based firm, Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, whose patterns — particularly the floral design Grandmother inspired by a tablecloth Venturi saw at the home of a colleague's grandmother — adorned Swid Powell porcelain as well as furniture and clothing.

The firm also partnered with architect Richard Meier, whose geometric designs were inspired in part by those of Josef Hoffmann and Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Swid Powell also worked with Arata Isosaki, Ettore Sottsass, Zaha Hadid and George Sowden, creating products that incorporated the bright, saturated colors and popular and historical references, like Classical columns, that animated postmodern design in the 1980s. The Chicago Blue china pattern designed for Swid Powell by the firm Gwathmey Siegel references the distinctive patterns of Frank Lloyd Wright’s leaded glass windows. As you will see in the examples below, Swid Powell continued to produce fine, fashionable homewares throughout the decade and beyond.

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Creator: Swid Powell
Wonderful Modern Pair Swid Powell Water Pitcher TsAO & McKown Silver Plate Italy
Wonderful Modern Pair Swid Powell Water Pitcher TsAO & McKown Silver Plate Italy

Wonderful Modern Pair Swid Powell Water Pitcher TsAO & McKown Silver Plate Italy

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A Wonderful Pair Of Swid Powell / Calvin TsAO and Zack McKown Silver Plated Water Pitchers With A Sleek Conical Form With Flat Curving Handle And Ice Guard, This Beautiful Modern Pit...

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20th Century Italian Modern Swid Powell Pitchers

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Swid Powell pitchers for sale on 1stDibs.

Swid Powell pitchers are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of silver and are designed with extraordinary care. Many of the original pitchers by Swid Powell were created in the modern style in italy during the 20th century. Prices for Swid Powell pitchers can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $495 and can go as high as $495, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $495.