- Want more images or videos?Request additional images or videos from the seller
Swid Powell Dinner Set "Chicago Blues" Custom

About the Item
- Creator:Swid Powell (Manufacturer),Gwathmey Siegel & Assoc (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 1 in (2.54 cm)Diameter: 11 in (27.94 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 5
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1985
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Chicago, IL
- Reference Number:
Swid Powell
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Zaha Hadid and George Sowden, creating products that incorporated the bright, saturated colors and popular and historical references, like Classical columns, that animated postmodern design in the 1980s.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.
Shipping & Returns
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Chicago, IL
- Return Policy
This item cannot be returned.
- Architect Bertrand Goldberg Bench from Marina City Chicago 1962By Bertrand Goldberg, Art Metal Co.Located in Chicago, ILArchitect Bertrand Goldberg Bench from Marina City Chicago 1962, Polished tubular and flat aluminum frame with channeled original Leather over spring supports. [Retains label Marina...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsAluminum
- Alexander Girard Custom MuralBy Herman Miller, Alexander GirardLocated in Chicago, ILAlexander Girard Custom Mural from the Irwin Union Bank & Trust Company, Columbus, IN Mural is composed of forty three vintage upholstered in Girard for Herman Miller panels.Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures
MaterialsWool
$47,250 / set - Arthur Elrod Custom DeskBy Arthur Elrod, Pace Furniture CompanyLocated in Chicago, ILArthur Elrod Custom desk, Manufactured by Pace; features a red lacquered Desk Top with three pencil drawers with solid perforated chrome plated pulls. The frame is also chrome-plate...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
MaterialsSteel
$16,000 - Marcel Breuer Custom DeskBy Marcel BreuerLocated in Chicago, ILMarcel Breuer custom desk, acquired by Rufus Stillman, who built three separate Breuer Houses after seeing Breuer’s "House in the Garden” the year before for MOMA Museum. Stamped ma...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsWalnut
$37,800 - Warren Platner Custom Wall SconceBy Warren PlatnerLocated in Chicago, ILWarren Platner Associates architects: Wall sconce. Custom for important commission. Features lift-up. Mirrored polished brass shield with four steel louvers.Category
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass, Steel
- Frank Lloyd Wright Custom ChairsBy Frank Lloyd WrightLocated in Chicago, ILFrank Lloyd Wright, pair of chairs from the Kalita Humphreys Theater, Dallas Texas. Literature: Frank Lloyd Wright Monograph 1951-1959, Pfeiffer and Futugawa, ppg. 206-208. ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsMetal
$12,075 / set
- Set of 21 Gwathmey Siegel Kaufman's 'Tuxedo' for Swid Powell Various PorcelainBy Swid Powell, Gwathmey Siegel & AssocLocated in Southampton, NYSet of 21 Gwathmey Siegel Kaufman's design 'Tuxedo' for Swid Powell - Various Porcelain pieces 3 Salad plates 7.75" diameter 3 Dinner plates 11" diameter 3 Bowls 8.5" 3 Mugs 4 c...Category
20th Century American Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Antique Meissen 68-Piece Floral Dinner ServiceBy Meissen PorcelainLocated in London, GBAntique Meissen 68-piece floral dinner service German, c. 1900 Largest serving dish: Height 6cm, width 52.5cm, depth 37.5cm Square salad bowl: Height 9.5cm, width 22cm, depth 22cm...Category
Antique Early 1900s German Rococo Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain
$44,200 / set - Hand-Blown Salviati French Venetian Stemware Service with Pink Figural SwansBy SalviatiLocated in Great Barrington, MAWhat an amazing Venetian Murano stemware service, ready for your next event in the bright and Classic French blue. Each piece is handblown in an optic rib pattern with applied pink p...Category
Vintage 1920s Italian Glass
MaterialsBlown Glass
- Extensive Assembled Meissen Blue and White Bird Model Dinner Service, circa 1890Located in New York, NYEach piece painted in underglaze-blue and heightened in gilding with an exotic bird perched upon peony branches, comprising: an oval soup tureen, cover and two stands, an 18" oval pl...Category
Antique 1890s German Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain
- Mid Century 125 Piece Dinner Set by Raymond Loewy for Rosenthal GermanyBy Raymond LoewyLocated in Port Jervis, NYAmazing set of porcelain china by Rosenthal and designed by Raymond Loewy. Made in Germany. Quince is the pattern as it has a definite Asian influence. In excellent condition, no chi...Category
Vintage 1950s German Mid-Century Modern Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain
- "Meier White" Chop Plates by Richard Meier for Swid PowellBy Richard Meier, Swid PowellLocated in Palm Desert, CAA clean, contemporary china design, this group of five plates in the "Meier White" pattern by Richard Meier feature his signature design for Swid Powell.Category
Late 20th Century Japanese Platters and Serveware
- Swid Powell Toscana Tableware Designed by Steven Harris & Lucien Ress-RobertsBy Swid PowellLocated in Philadelphia, PAGreat set of post modern colorful tableware: Designer: Steven Harris, American, born 1950 Designer: Lucien Rees Roberts, English, born 1952 Retailer: Swid Powell, American, 1982...Category
Late 20th Century European Post-Modern Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain
- Set of 21 Gwathmey Siegel Kaufman's 'Tuxedo' for Swid Powell Various PorcelainBy Swid Powell, Gwathmey Siegel & AssocLocated in Southampton, NYSet of 21 Gwathmey Siegel Kaufman's design 'Tuxedo' for Swid Powell - Various Porcelain pieces 3 Salad plates 7.75" diameter 3 Dinner plates 11" diameter 3 Bowls 8.5" 3 Mugs 4 c...Category
20th Century American Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Robert Venturi Swid Powell Postmodern Serving Spoons Neoclassical Column, SetBy Reed & Barton, Robert Venturi, Swid PowellLocated in New York, NYA beautiful, chic, substantial, and iconic set of designer Postmodern sterling silver-plate serving, salad or platter spoons with Neoclassical pillar column handle design, designed b...Category
Late 20th Century American Neoclassical Serving Pieces
MaterialsSilver Plate
- Set of 10 Cobalt Blue & Gilt Encrusted Dinner Plates, Antique Custom OrderedBy Marshall Field & Co. 1Located in West Palm Beach, FLAn elegant and formal set of dinner plates ordered through the fine Gilded Age firm of Marshall Fields Chicago. This set from Royal Doulton has their classic Robert Allen shape, and ...Category
Vintage 1910s British Dinner Plates
MaterialsGold, Enamel
- Swid Powell Serving Spoon Set by Michael Graves for Barton & ReedBy Reed & Barton, Michael Graves (b.1934), Swid PowellLocated in Southampton, NYSwid Powell serving spoon seat by Michael Graves for Barton & Reed A Postmodern set of sterling silver plate salad serving spoons by Architect and Designer Michael Graves for Swid P...Category
Late 20th Century American Post-Modern Serving Pieces
MaterialsSilver Plate
Recently Viewed
View MoreThe 1stDibs Promise
Learn MoreExpertly Vetted Sellers
Confidence at Checkout
Price-Match Guarantee
Exceptional Support
Buyer Protection
Trusted Global Delivery