Aalto Vase

The Aalto Vase, also known as the Savoy Vase, is a world famous piece of glassware created by Alvar Aalto.

Related Topics:
Glassware - Alvar Aalto

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The vase was originally designed as an entry in a design competition for the Karhula-littala glassworks factory in 1936. The design was inspired by the dress of a Sami woman. Called Eskim?erindens skinnbuxa (the Eskimo woman's leather breech), the design was comprised of a series of crayon drawings on cardboard and scratch paper. The vase was originally manufactured by the glassworks factory using a wood mold which was slowly burned away.

Related Topics:
1936 - Sami - Eskimo

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This vase was later displayed for the 1937 World's Fair in Paris.

Related Topics:
1937 World's Fair - Paris

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The Savoy Vase name is the result of the purchase of the vase, and rights to the design, by the Savoy Restaurant in Helsinki. Aalto never made money with the vase, because the design belonged to the factory for which the design competition entry was produced.

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The vase was manufactured in nearly a full spectrum of colours. The simplicity of the vase continues to be popular in the 21st century. Smaller versions of the vase, just as Aalto designed them with the seams visible and a slight curve at the base, are still produced by the littala glass factory. Larger versions are made using Aalto's design, but without seams.

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