Savoy Vase

Savoy Vase. Also known as the Aalto Vase, it is an iconic work of Finnish design created by architect and designer Alvar Aalto. Originally designed for a 1936 competition held by the Karhula-Iittala glassworks, the vase's undulating, organic form was inspired by the Finnish landscape. It has become a seminal piece of Scandinavian design and a symbol of 20th-century design.

History and Design

The vase was conceived for a design contest organized for the 1937 Paris World's Fair, where the Finnish pavilion was designed by Aalto himself. Its revolutionary form, nicknamed "the Eskimo woman's leather breeches," broke radically from traditional symmetrical glass art. The design is celebrated for its biomorphic shape, which mimics the contours of Finnish lakes, a concept Aalto often explored in his architectural work like the Viipuri Library. The initial production was fraught with technical challenges due to the complexity of its free-form silhouette, requiring innovative techniques at the Iittala factory. Its successful realization marked a triumph in industrial design, blending artistic vision with manufacturing prowess.

Production and Manufacture

Manufactured by the Iittala glass company, the vase is produced using a demanding glassblowing and molding process. Each piece begins as a blown glass bubble that is then pressed into a segmented wooden mold, whose parts create the signature wavy edges. After annealing in a lehr oven, each vase is meticulously finished by hand. The production has remained largely unchanged since its inception, preserving its artisanal quality. Over the decades, it has been issued in various sizes and a spectrum of colors, from classic clear and cobalt blue to emerald green and smoky grey.

Cultural Significance and Legacy

The Savoy Vase is a cornerstone of modernism and a defining object of the Art Deco and Functionalism movements. It transcended its original purpose as a centerpiece for the Savoy Restaurant in Helsinki to become a global design icon. It is frequently exhibited in major institutions like the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Design Museum in London. The vase's enduring popularity reflects a broader cultural appreciation for organic forms in design, influencing subsequent generations of designers and studios, including Tapio Wirkkala and Eero Aarnio.

Notable Examples and Collections

Original early editions are held in the permanent collections of prestigious museums worldwide. Key examples can be found at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Helsinki Design Museum. The Alvar Aalto Museum in Jyväskylä also houses significant archival pieces and prototypes. Its presence in such collections underscores its status not merely as a decorative object but as a pivotal work of art and design history.

Designers and Collaborators

The vase is the masterwork of Alvar Aalto, one of Finland's most celebrated architects and a key figure in modern architecture. His wife, designer Aino Aalto, was a crucial collaborator in his studio and contributed to the holistic design ethos that produced the vase. The technical execution relied on the skilled glassblowers at the Iittala factory. The broader context of its creation involved figures like art patron Maire Gullichsen and the Artek company, which Aalto co-founded to distribute his and Aino's designs.

Category:Finnish design Category:Glass art Category:1936 works