A Rare American Modernist ''Continental'' Six-Piece Coffee and Tea Service, model no. C342

comprising coffee pot, teapot, creamer, covered sugar bowl, waste bowl, and tray

International Silver Company, record sheet, n.d., The Meridien Historical Society, Inc., Meriden, CT (for a period illustration and price list of the complete six-piece service)
David A. Hanks, Donald Deskey: Decorative Designs and Interiors, New York, 1987, p. 20 (for a similar coffee service designed by Donald Deskey for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's 1934 exhibition Contemporary American Industrial Art)

This service is a slight variation on the iconic coffee service designed by Donald Deskey and manufactured by the International Silver Company for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's 1934 landmark exhibition Contemporary American Industrial Art.  According to period record sheets published by the International Silver Company, a complete six-piece ''Continental'' service cost $750, roughly the same price as a car.  This service is distinguished by its extraordinary weight, lavish use of materials and sleek linearity.  A four-piece ''Continental'' service of this same design comprising a coffee pot, teapot, creamer, and covered sugar bowl are in the collection of The Wolfsonian-Florida International University, Miami, Florida. 

Sotheby's wishes to thank W. Scott Braznell for his assistance in cataloguing this lot.