Vase and dish in silver by Tapio Wirkkala for Hopeakeskusta

Name: Vase and dish in silver by Tapio Wirkkala for Hopeakeskusta
Brand: Tapio Wirkkala
Price: 2142.39 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Tapio Wirkkala Tapio Wirkkala (1915-1985) was a versatile design genius, and is widely regarded as a leading figure in the modern Finnish art industry. Wirkkala's extensive contribution to Finnish design ranges from glass, furniture and product design to sculptures, urban planning, art and even banknotes for the Finnish treasury. Throughout his highly productive career, Wirkkala was awarded several awards, including three gold medals at the Milan Triennale, the Lunning Prize, the Pro Finlandia Medal and the Prince Eugen Medal. In 1946, Wirkkala won his first design award in a competition sponsored by Iittala which would become a lifelong relationship with lasting effects on his career and the company. As Iittala's artistic director, and with Wirkkala's unique artistic vision, he helped establish the company's global reputation. Throughout his legendary career, the uniquely talented artist created more than four hundred glassware for Iittala, many of which, like the Ultima Thule and Tapio series, are still popular. He also worked with Rosenthal ceramics where, among other things, he made annual plates to hang on the wall or the famous Paper Bag Vase. He worked with the Finnish company Kultakeskus and Hopeakeskus in Tavastehus (Hämeenlinna) where he designed exclusive silver objects or silver/glass objects. This items are manufactured by Hopeakeskus in Hämeenlinna-Finland. The vase in made in 1976 (silver 830) H=20 cm W=5,5 cm, while the dish vas made in 1962 (silver 916H) Dim=18 cm H=3 cm. Both have stamps and signature TW.

Creator:

Tapio Wirkkala (Designer)

Dimensions:

Height: 1.19 in (3 cm)Diameter: 7.09 in (18 cm)

Style:

Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Silver,Hand-Crafted

Place of Origin:

Finland

Period:

1970-1979

Date of Manufacture:

1971

Condition:

Seller Location:

Djurhamn, SE

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU9204237620832

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Shop All Tapio Wirkkala

Tapio Wirkkala

Along with architect Alvar Aalto, the designer Tapio Wirkkala was Finland’s leading contributor to the Scandinavian interpretation of modernism in the mid-20th century. Prolific and innovative, Wirkkala excelled in a wide range of fields, including glass, furniture, porcelain, jewelry and tableware. The hallmark of his talent was an ability to impart a craft aesthetic based on natural forms — leaves, ice, bubbles, birds — to industrially produced designs.

A native of Helsinki, Wirkkala studied at the national School of Applied Arts and took up a career in graphic design. After serving in the Finnish army during World War II, he joined the glassmaking firm Iittala, an association that would continue to the end of his life. Wirkkala learned every aspect of glassmaking in keeping with his belief that an artist-designer should be involved in all stages of production. His best-known works for Iittala are vases and drinking vessels that resemble either carved ice or icicles. In 1956, Wirkkala began a long relationship with the porcelain maker Rosenthal, for whom he designed elegant table pieces, such as the Finlandia coffee service and the biomorphic Pollo vases.

House Beautiful magazine declared Wirkkala’s Leaf platter the “most beautiful object” of 1951. (The acclaim led to his brief employment stint with industrial designer Raymond Loewy in New York.) That platter was one of the first designs Wirkkala made using laminated sheets of plywood sanded to a smooth surface that resembles an abstract leaf. It would go on to become a motif in many Wirkkala furniture pieces — most notably in inlaid coffee tables for Asko — and in a sense these are the works most emblematic of his personal aesthetic.

Wirkkala was a traditionalist in many ways, but he had a modernist’s practical approach, incorporating his leaf-like spirals into simple, functional objects. That is the core attraction of Wirkkala’s designs: They stand out with a striking, sculptural energy yet blend in as part of a warm and comfortable decor.

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