Prototype tea urn

Eliel Saarinen|International Silver Co., Wilcox Silver Plate Co. Division (Meriden, Connecticut)

ca. 1932–35 · Electro-plated nickel silver, brass and Bakelite · Modern and Contemporary Art

An internationally renowned architect and designer, Saarinen immigrated to America in 1923 and settled in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, in 1925. He designed this prototype in the early 1930s for use in his Michigan home. The sophisticated design relies on geometric forms, with fine proportions offsetting austere decoration. Saarinen insisted on brass plating for his personal pieces because the color appears warm, while the International Silver Company produced a limited commercial run of the design in less expensive, cooler-looking silver plate.

Artist

Eliel Saarinen|International Silver Co., Wilcox Silver Plate Co. Division (Meriden, Connecticut)

Date

ca. 1932–35

Medium

Electro-plated nickel silver, brass and Bakelite

Department

Modern and Contemporary Art

Credit line

Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Saarinen Swanson and John C. Waddell Gifts, and Gift of Susan Dwight Bliss, by exchange, 1999