Browse Record
Images
Metadata
Artist |
Wright, Russel |
Caption |
Iroquois casual china carafe |
Collection |
TMA |
Credit Line |
Gift of Jason Allen Hose, Tyler, TX |
Culture |
American |
Date |
1946 |
Description |
Whiteware, glazed ceramic Produced by Iroquois China Company, Syracuse, NY Russel Wright is best known for his colorful American Modern dinnerware, the most widely sold American ceramic dinnerware in history, manufactured between 1939-1959 by Steubenville Pottery in Steubenville, Ohio. He also designed top selling wooden furniture, spun aluminum dining accessories and textiles. His simple, practical style was influential in persuading ordinary Americans to embrace Modernism in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Wright's trademarked signature was the first to be identified with lifestyle-marketed products, paving the way for personality-driven lifestyle empires such as Martha Stewart, Ralph Lauren and others. In 1945, Wright designed a prototype set of Melamine dinnerware, one of the first dinner wares made of plastic. This piece was introduced in 1946 as part of the "Casual China" line, one of the first lines of "unbreakable" dinnerware. Wright's method of design came from the belief that the table was the center of the home. Designing in layers from there outwards, he designed tableware to larger furniture, architecture to landscaping, all according to his concept of easy, informal living. It was through his immensely popular and widely distributed housewares and furnishings that he revolutionized the way Americans lived and organized their homes in the mid 20th century. |
Dimensions |
H-10.25 inches |
Medium |
Ceramic |
Material |
Glazed/Ceramic |
Catalog Number |
2010.07 |
Title |
Iroquois casual china carafe |