Terms and conditions of use
Savoy, vase
designed (1936); manufactured (c. 1972)
Medium
glass
Measurements
20.2 × 18.3 × 17.5 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Presented by His Excellency the Ambassador for Finland, Mr Tuure Mentula, 1973
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
Aalto’s Savoy vase was named after the luxury Helsinki restaurant for which he and his wife designed the interior furnishings. Its famous organic form has been variously interpreted, from references to an Eskimo woman’s leather trousers to the Finnish landscape with its myriad lakes. Several unique variations of the vase are known: early examples were made from blown bottle-glass and have an irregular quality to the glass, while this vase belongs to a series that used opaque coloured glass encased in clear glass over the exterior. Presented to the Gallery as a diplomatic gift, the Savoy vase remains in production today and has become a classic example of modern Scandinavian design.
Artwork Details
Inscription
incised in rim of base u.c.: ALVAR AALTO • 3031
printed on plastic label near rim u.r.: i (in a circle) / MADE IN FINLAND
Accession Number
D29-1973
Department
International Decorative Arts
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Dame Carol Colburn-Grigor CBE through Metal Manufactures Limited
Physical description
"Savoy" vase, vertical sides curve in a serpentine manner, in opaque white glass.