The Timeless Appeal Of Eva Zeisel Dinnerware Sets

Eva Zeisel was a Hungarian-born American industrial designer, best known for her work with ceramics. Her designs are playful yet practical, often inspired by nature and human relationships. Working primarily in porcelain and ceramic tableware, Zeisel introduced her trademark sensuous curves to mass production. Her distinctive style is fluid and graceful, with curves that reflect her earlier works while feeling fresh and timeless. Zeisel's work has a distinctive organic and timeless sensuality, making her one of the masters of mid-century modernism.

Eva Zeisel's work with ceramics

Eva Striker Zeisel, born Éva Amália Striker in 1906 in Budapest, Hungary, was a renowned designer known for her work with ceramics. She immigrated to the United States and began her career in ceramics in the late 1930s, teaching at the Pratt Institute in New York. During this time, she also created designs for companies like Sears and the Bay Ridge Specialty Company.

In 1942, Zeisel received a pivotal commission from the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and Castleton China. She designed a set of modern, porcelain, undecorated china for exhibition at MoMA, which later went into production in 1949 under the names "Museum" and "Castleton White." This opportunity established her reputation as a designer in the US, and her work was praised for its playful yet practical nature.

Zeisel's designs were often inspired by the natural world and human relationships, resulting in abstractions that became her trademark. She described herself as a maker of useful things, and her work reflected a distinctive organic and timeless sensuality. Her designs were included in family groups, with nesting shapes that created modular designs and saved space.

One of Zeisel's most popular lines was "Hallcraft, Tomorrow's Classic", created for the Hall China Company in the early 1950s. This line included a full range of dinnerware and tableware accessories, initially offered in plain white. She also designed a second line for Hall called "Century," which began production in 1956.

Zeisel's work has stood the test of time, with reproductions of her earlier designs sold at prominent museums like MoMA, the Brooklyn Museum, and Neue Galerie. Her designs continue to be sought after and collected, with her eccentric "Town and Country" dishes being among her most collected shapes.

Zeisel's distinctive style

Eva Zeisel was a Hungarian-born American industrial designer, best known for her work with ceramics. Her distinctive style has been described as playful yet practical, with a timeless, fluid and graceful aesthetic. Inspired by nature, human relationships and Hungarian folk art, Zeisel's designs often feature curvaceous, biomorphic forms.

Her work is characterised by a sensuous, organic quality, with shapes that echo the curves of the human body. This curvilinear style is a notable feature of her "Town and Country" dishes, produced by Red Wing Pottery in 1947, which includes the iconic "mother and child" salt and pepper shakers. Zeisel herself described her affinity for curves, stating, "I don't create angular things. I'm a more circular person—it's more my character... even the air between my hands is round."

Zeisel's designs are also notable for their functionality and modularity. Describing herself as a "maker of useful things", Zeisel created objects that served a practical purpose while also being aesthetically pleasing. Many of her designs nest together, creating modular sets that save space. This combination of form and function is a defining characteristic of her work.

Zeisel's style has had a significant influence on modern design, with her work being included in important museum collections worldwide. Her designs have a timeless appeal, with reproductions of her earlier work sold in museum gift shops, and her later designs finding the same success as her earlier creations.

Zeisel's inspiration and influences

Eva Zeisel was a Hungarian-born American industrial designer, best known for her work with ceramics. She described herself as a "maker of useful things", and her designs were inspired by her personal relationships and the natural world.

Zeisel was born in 1906 in Budapest, Hungary, to a wealthy, highly educated Jewish family. Despite her family's intellectual prominence in the sciences, Zeisel was always drawn to art. At 17, she entered Budapest's Magyar Képzőművészeti Akadémia (Hungarian Royal Academy of Fine Arts) as a painter. To support her painting, she took on a more practical profession and apprenticed herself to Jakob Karapancsik, the last pottery master in the medieval guild system. From him, she learned ceramics.

Zeisel's early life was shaped by the strong, forward-thinking women who raised her, the intellectual family friends who brought different opinions to conversations about the world, and the political and social turbulence in early 20th-century Hungary. She was raised in a progressive and liberal household, where she was encouraged to play freely and be creative.

In 1928, Zeisel became the designer for the Schramberger Majolikafabrik in the Black Forest region of Germany, where she created playfully geometric designs for dinnerware, tea sets, vases, and other ceramic items. Her designs at Schramberg were largely influenced by modern architecture. She had recently learned to draft with a compass and ruler and was proud to put these skills to use.

In the late 1950s, Zeisel designed for several international companies, including German and Italian companies, as well as companies in Japan and Thailand.

Zeisel's designs are often abstractions of the natural world and human relationships. She describes her designs as having a "family relationship" through their lines and shapes. Her sense of form and colour, as well as her use of bird themes, show the influence of the Hungarian folk arts she grew up with.

Zeisel's career and commissions

Eva Zeisel was a Hungarian-born American industrial designer and ceramicist. She is best known for her practical yet beautiful tableware, which bears a unique amalgamation of modern and classical design aesthetics.

In 1923, Zeisel entered the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest to study painting. However, at the urging of her mother to learn a practical trade, she left after just three semesters and started an apprenticeship with potter Jakob Karapancsik. She was the first woman to qualify as a journeyman in the Hungarian Guild of Chimney Sweeps, Oven Makers, Roof Tilers, Well Diggers, and Potters. After graduating as a journeyman, she found work at the Hansa-Kust-Keramik, a ceramic workshop in Hamburg, Germany.

In 1928, Zeisel became the designer for the Schramberger Majolikafabrik in the Black Forest region of Germany, where she worked for about two years creating playful geometric designs for dinnerware, tea sets, vases, inkwells and other ceramic items. Her designs at Schramberg were largely influenced by modern architecture. In 1930, she moved to Berlin, designing for the Carstens factories.

In 1932, Zeisel decided to visit the Soviet Union, where she would stay for five years. During this period, she took a position as a designer at the Lomonosov State Porcelain Factory in Leningrad. She also spent time in Moscow, where she became the artistic director of the Russian China and Glass Trust. However, in 1936, Zeisel was arrested and falsely accused of participating in an assassination plot against Joseph Stalin. She was held in prison for 16 months before being deported to Vienna, Austria, in September 1937.

After reconnecting with her future husband, Hans Zeisel, in Vienna, the couple sailed to the US with $67 between them. When Zeisel arrived in the US, she had to reestablish her reputation as a designer. Beginning in 1937, she taught at the Pratt Institute in New York.

In 1942, Zeisel received a significant commission from the Museum of Modern Art and Castleton China to design a set of modern, porcelain, undecorated china worthy of exhibition at MoMA. The resulting exhibition, "New Shapes in Modern China Designed by Eva Zeisel", ran from April 17 to June 9, 1946, and was the first one-woman exhibition at MoMA.

Following the success of the MoMA exhibition, Zeisel received numerous commissions from companies such as Red Wing Potteries, Hall China Company, Western Stoneware Company, Federal Glass Company, and Hyalyn Porcelain. She designed popular lines such as "Town and Country" and "Hallcraft, Tomorrow's Classic", which included a full line of dinnerware and tableware accessories.

In the late 1950s, Zeisel designed for several international companies, including Rosenthal AG and Mancioli Pottery. She continued to produce new designs throughout her later career, collaborating with companies such as The Orange Chicken, KleinReid, Nambé, Chantal, Eva Zeisel Originals, and Design Within Reach.

Zeisel's work is included in important museum collections worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum, Brooklyn Museum, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the British Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. She received numerous awards during her career, including the Lifetime Achievement award from the Cooper-Hewett National Design Museum and the two highest civilian awards from the Hungarian government.

Zeisel's awards and recognition

Eva Zeisel's awards and recognition include:

• An exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in 1946, which was the first one-woman exhibition at the museum.
• The Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cooper-Hewett National Design Museum in 2005.
• The two highest civilian awards from the Hungarian government.
• The Pratt Legends Award.
• Awards from the Industrial Designers Society of America and Alfred University.
• Honorary degrees from Parsons (New School), Rhode Island School of Design, the Royal College of Art, and the Hungarian University of the Arts.
• Honorary membership of the Royal Society of Industrial Designers.
• An Honourable Mention at the Sesquicentennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1926.
• A Senior Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1983.

Zeisel's work is included in important museum collections across the world, including the Metropolitan Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art.

Frequently asked questions