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Designer Timo Sarpaneva (1926 - 2006) was one of the masters of the 20th
century design. He studied at the Central School of Applied Arts (Taideteollinen
Korkeakoulu) in Helsinki, Finland, in the 40's, and soon after graduating gained
prominence in both artistic and functional design fields. In the 50's he was
employed by Iittala, where as a designer he went on to produce, in 1953, one of
his most admired works: the sculptural Orchid vase, which, at the time, was
enthused by the 'House Beautiful' magazine in the U.S. as the "the most beautiful
object of the year". It eventually gained him the Grand Prix at the tenth Milan
Triennale of 1954. I'm featuring two objects from my collection here, a subtle
plate (signed as "Timo Sarpaneva 2203"), with clear glass in the middle and
slightly smokey cray on the outer ring, and an "Orchid" vase (the 27 centimetres
high version):
The Orchid Vase is one of the most lovely pieces I've ever seen. How fortunate you are to have one in your collection.
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