Tapio Wirkkala Tea Set for Rosenthal Series Noire
View Similar Items
Tapio Wirkkala Tea Set for Rosenthal Series Noire
About the Item
- Creator:Tapio Wirkkala (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 5.91 in (15 cm)Width: 7.88 in (20 cm)Depth: 5.91 in (15 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 17
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Berlin, DE
- Reference Number:Seller: cc.joe1stDibs: LU159123631432
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.
Find vintage Tapio Wirkkala furniture on 1stDibs.
More From This Seller
View AllVintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Maple
Vintage 1950s German Mid-Century Modern Vases
Ceramic
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Aluminum, Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Chrome
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Metal
You May Also Like
Vintage 1960s German Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
Porcelain
Vintage 1960s German Scandinavian Modern Porcelain
Porcelain
Vintage 1970s German Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
Ceramic
20th Century German Scandinavian Modern Porcelain
Porcelain
20th Century German Scandinavian Modern Porcelain
Porcelain
Vintage 1980s German Modern Tableware
Porcelain
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Tapio Wirkkala Bucked the Trends of Mid-Century Nordic Design
The Finnish talent created nature-inspired pieces, from furniture to jewelry, with phenomenal staying power.
Original in Berlin’s Lars Triesch Has Turned a Passion for Design into a Booming Business
His two gallery spaces in the German capital bring together thousands of pieces ranging from mid-century classics and Murano glass to covetable reproductions manufactured in-house.