MODERN TIMES
When I’m 101
It’s not easy keeping up with Eva Zeisel, the renowned modernist ceramist and designer. At the age of 101, she is still busy designing everything from tables and rugs to lighting and Christmas ornaments. Born in 1906 in Hungary, she was already a celebrated designer when she arrived in the U.S. in 1938 after fleeing Stalin, then Hitler. She first came to the attention of the American public with her spare but sensuous “Museum” dinnerware of 1946, created in conjunction with the Museum of Modern Art to help draw the public towards modern design. Now the venerable English pottery, Royal Stafford, which worked with Zeisel a few years ago to craft the “Classic Century” dinnerware from two of her 1950s shapes, “Tomorrow’s Classic” and “Century,” has introduced Zeisel’s new “One-O-One” dinnerware, named in honor of her 101st birthday last November. The high fired, clear glazed English earthenware marries exuberantly organic forms with the natural cream color of the clay — dug from the same area of Cornwall where Josiah Wedgwood dug his in the 1700s, points out Norman Tempest, managing director at Royal Stafford. Several of the pieces, including the teapot, creamer, sugar bowl and salt and pepper shakers, share an inverted hourglass form, while the Rockland bowl (named for the New York county where Zeisel has a summer home) recalls a tulip whose delicate petals are just leaving their prime. A classic Zeisel touch: the downturned thumb hold of the gravy boat mirrors the elegant spout at the other end. Prices range from $25 for salad plates and cereal bowls to $70 for salt and pepper shakers, $100 for the Rockland bowl and $110 for the teapot. Available through Bloomingdale’s at
www.bloomingdales.com.– AT
Real Modern: Modernize Your Table
When a modernist look is the goal, one of the toughest things to find at an affordable price is flatware. The best vintage designs, like Arne Jacobsen’s AJ in stainless steel for Georg Jensen (1957–58) or Jens Quistgaard’s teak-handled Fjord stainless for Dansk (1954), command $25 to $30 per piece and more.
Fortunately, there are alternatives, and they come from some surprising sources. One is Oneida, whose vintage mass-market stamped patterns can be surprisingly sleek and handsome. Oneida’s Frostfire, discontinued in 2005, is widely available on auction sites and through replacement services beginning at $3 to $5 per place piece, though serving pieces go for more. Frostfire even includes specialty items like fish knives and forks.
Another alternative is Dansk’s new reissue of Kongo, a companion pattern to Fjord, which required special care due to its teak handles. The same design as Fjord, Kongo had black nylon handles and was dishwasher-safe. The reissue compares very favorably with the 1954 originals, though some changes have been made. The black nylon has been replaced with black acrylic for even more durability, and the new pieces are a bit larger, reflecting the growing American preference for European-sized flatware. A lead-based pewter balance weight in the handle of vintage pieces has been replaced with steel in the reissue, for safety’s sake. The new Kongo’s suggested retail is $67 for a five-piece place setting consisting of salad fork, dinner fork, knife, soup spoon and teaspoon, but discounts to around $40 are widely available.
It’s also possible to find vintage modernist sterling silver at prices lower than vintage stainless. John O. Van Koert’s Contour, a sterling pattern designed for Towle in 1948, can often be found on auction sites for $10 to $15 per piece. For those who like the well-matched tabletop look of the ‘40s, Contour also included hollowware designs, like coffee pots and teapots; today, these are most often found at estate sales and through replacement services — although hollowware is never as affordable as flatware, due to the sheer weight of the silver. Sterling silver is not the burden many people think; it requires polishing only perhaps twice a year if properly cared for and stored. While sterling shouldn’t go into the dishwasher, many owners find the few minutes spent in hand-washing a small price to pay for its classic good looks and luxurious feel. – SM
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