Eliel Saarinen | Prototype tea service | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Title: Prototype tea service

Designer: Eliel Saarinen (American (born Finland), Rantasalmi 1873–1950 Bloomfield Hills, Michigan)

Manufacturer: International Silver Co., Wilcox Silver Plate Co. Division, Meriden, Connecticut

Date: ca. 1932–35

Medium: Electroplated nickel silver, brass, and Bakelite

Dimensions: Tea Urn, 1a-c: H. 14-1/2, D. 11 in. (36.8 x 19.7 cm)
Tray, 2: H. 5/8 Diam. 17-5/8 in. (44.5 cm)
Creamer, 3: H. 3, W. 6, D. 3-7/8 in. (7.6 x 15.2 x 9.8 cm)
Sugar Bowl, 4a,b: H. 6-3/4, W. 6, D. 3-7/8 in. (17.1 x 15.2 x 9.8 cm)
Large Tray, 5: H. 1/2 Diam. 20-3/8 in. (51.4 cm)

Classification: Metalwork

Credit Line: Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Saarinen Swanson and John C. Waddell Gifts, and Gift of Susan Dwight Bliss, by exchange, 1999

Accession Number: 1999.27.1a-c-.5

Marking: (underside of urn, stamped): WILCOX S.P.CO. / E P N S / INTERNATIONAL S CO / N5873 / IS; (underside of small tray, stamped): WILCOX S.P.CO. / E P N S / INTERNATIONAL S CO / N5875 / IS; (underside of creamer, scratched): 31190; (underside of sugar bowl scratched): 31190

Mr. and Mrs. Eliel Saarinen, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. (until his d. 1950); Mrs. Eliel Saarinen, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. (1950–d. 1968); her grandson, Ronald Saarinen Swanson, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. (1968–98; to MMA)

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Recent Acquisitions of Twentieth-Century Design and Architecture," June 29–November 14, 1999, no catalogue.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "American Modern, 1925–1940: Design for a New Age," May 16, 2000–January 7, extended to February 4, 2001, unnumbered cat. (p. 106; tea service in New York venue only).

Newport Beach, Calif. Orange County Museum of Art. "American Modern, 1925–1940: Design for a New Age," May 25–August 19, 2001, unnumbered cat. (tea urn and tray only).

Flint. Flint Institute of Arts. "American Modern, 1925–1940: Design for a New Age," September 14–December 16, 2001, unnumbered cat. (tea urn and tray only).

Philadelphia. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. "American Modern, 1925–1940: Design for a New Age," January 11–April 7, 2002, unnumbered cat. (tea urn and tray only).

Charlotte. Mint Museum of Craft and Design. "American Modern, 1925–1940: Design for a New Age," May 3–July 28, 2002, unnumbered cat. (tea urn and tray only).

Tulsa. Philbrook Museum of Art. "American Modern, 1925–1940: Design for a New Age," August 23–November 17, 2002, unnumbered cat. (tea urn and tray only).

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "A Curator's Eye: J. Stewart Johnson, 1990–2004," March 1–November 6, 2005, no catalogue (tea urn and tray only).

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Modern Design: Selections from the Collection," May 30–October 5, 2008, no catalogue.

Albert Christ-Janer. Eliel Saarinen. Chicago, 1948, fig. 164 (tea urn and tray).

R. Craig Miller in Design in America: The Cranbrook Vision 1925–1950. Exh. cat., Detroit Institute of Arts. New York, 1983, pp. 99–100.

J. David Farmer in Design in America: The Cranbrook Vision 1925–1950. Exh. cat., Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1983, p. 163, colorpl. 32 (tea urn and tray; Cranbrook Academy of Art version).

Richard Guy Wilson in The Machine Age in America, 1918–1941. Exh. cat., Brooklyn Museum. New York, 1986, p. 88, fig. 3.27 (tea urn and tray; Cranbrook Academy of Art version), dates it 1934.

Gregory Wittkopp, ed. Saarinen House and Garden: A Total Work of Art. New York, 1995, colorpl. 61.

J. Stewart Johnson in "Recent Acquisitions. A Selection: 1998–1999." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 57 (Fall 1999), p. 63, ill.

J. Stewart Johnson. American Modern, 1925–1940: Design for a New Age. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2000, pp. 34, 173, ill. p. 106 (color) (tea urn and tray).

Douglas Eklund, Marilyn F. Friedman, and Randall R. Griffey in Making The Met, 1870–2020. Ed. Andrea Bayer with Laura D. Corey. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2020, pp. 168, 253, fig. 183 (color).