Eva Zeisel by Pat Moore

Author:Pat Moore
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC
Published: 2013-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

Vase and candleholder, designed 1983; produced c. 1999. EZA.

Apples and gourd jar, designed 1983; produced c. 1999. EZA.

The Zsolnay forms that related most closely to Eva’s earlier work included the flask-form vases with circular impressions in the center, which were partially derived from the prototypes made in 1958 for modular room dividers for Mancioli Pottery (see chapter 26), the finials of a dinnerware prototype for Rosenthal in 1958 (see chapter 26), and her plates for Hyalyn in 1964 (see chapter 16).

Another example of Eva’s retrospective mood can be found in the squat vases which, with their scalloped edges and pinched indentations, are reminiscent of Eva’s refrigerator pitchers for Hall (see chapter 13) and some of her early handmade and home-fired “Crinkle” planters and dishes from around 1926. The low, rounded candlesticks recalled several of Eva’s dinnerware designs, most evocatively the teapot, creamer, and sugar bowl for Riverside (see chapter 7), a key difference being that Eva abandoned the fully rounded bottoms of the earlier pieces, which could rock on their bases without tipping, because the candlesticks demanded a flat bottom for obvious safety reasons.

After her work at Zsolnay, she continued to return to round, pillowy forms, as in her designs for KleinReid’s Nesting Pillow Vases (see chapter 19). Eva’s love of fruits and fruit forms, evident throughout her career, can be seen in a group of boxes designed for Zsolnay in the form of apples and pears. One of the most strikingly original pieces she designed while at the Zsolnay factory was a thrown and hand-shaped fig vase; its abstract, organic form with deep scallops harkened back in a general way to the curvilinear Art Nouveau forms popular in Europe at the turn of the twentieth century, forms closely associated with Zsolnay at the height of its fame.

In 1984, Zsolnay produced some of Eva’s designs and offered them for sale, but it is notknown how many objects were produced. It is likely that only a few were made.11 Eva retained ownership of her designs and kept several pieces, some of which she donated to museum collections.12

Always keen to find manufacturers for pieces made from her designs, in 1998 Eva took several Zsolnay prototypes to Totem Design, a gallery in Tribeca, lower Manhattan, that had been established a year earlier by David Shearer.13 Totem offered a variety of Eva’s Zsolnay designs for sale, including the flask vase (sometimes referred to as the belly button vase). The vase caught the eye of Don Joint of the Orange Chicken, another Tribeca gallery. Joint, familiar with Eva’s earlier work, was thrilled to learn that she was alive and working.14 He agreed to manufacture and market her Zsolnay designs, which remained unchanged and were manufactured using the original molds.15

Joint and Eva carefully reviewed the prototypes and decided that two were unsuitable for contemporary production: the tall pitcher, due to concerns over the strength and stability of the handle, and the apple box, because of its poorly fitting lid and questionable sales potential.16 Zsolnay agreed to

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