Alvar Aalto, An Early "Savoy" Vase

Phillips New York, December 11, 2002, lot 49

Acquired from the above by the present owner

Domus, no. 125, May 1938, p. 36

Jennifer Hawkins Opie, Scandinavia: Ceramics & Glass in the Twentieth Century, London, 1989, p. 23, fig. 189

Eva B. Ottillinger, Alvar Aalto, Möbel: Die Sammlung Kossdorff, Vienna, 2002, p. 74, fig. 76

Thomas Kellein, ed. alvar & aino aalto. design collection bischofberger, exh. cat., Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Zurich, 2005, pp. 213-214

Alvar Aalto’s timeless and iconic “Savoy” vases, whose design echoes the countless bodies of water populating the designer’s native Finland, assuredly represents one of the most significant creations of 20th century Scandinavian art glass. Originally designed in 1936 for a competition organized by Finland's prominent glassworks, Karhula and Iittala, which Aalto entered and won, the model was subsequently presented the following year at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. The model and its many subsequent variants ultimately became known as the “Savoy” vase after it was used as a central component of the furnishing for the luxury Savoy restaurant in Helsinki that opened in 1937. While models from the series are still in production to this day and manufactured in a full spectrum of colors, the following vases were executed by Karhulan before 1949 and are early examples of the “Savoy” model. As opposed to later models produced with cast iron molds by Iitala, the following three lots were likely made using wood molds into which the forms were blown. Aalto himself took part in the earlier productions of the vase. The result is a superb and highly textural glass structure whose form is reminiscent of the organic and nature-inspired shapes that characterize Aalto’s style. The designer himself stated that “form must have a content, and that content must be linked with nature.” With its asymmetrical free form and curvy walls, the piece embodies quintessential qualities associated with superior Finnish glass production.