Savoy. The story of the most famous Nordic vase

This is the Savoy vase by the Finnish designer and architect Alvar Aalto and his wife Aino. This star couple of designers conceived it in 1936 as part of an art glass competition by the flagship factory Karhula-Iittala.

It's called an icon of Finnish design, it's in the top 100 design objects from around the world, and it's considered Aalto's most famous work in art glass. It combines the functionality of a vase, an everyday object, and a conceptual work of art, making it an art object in itself.

Actually, Iittala still produces it. The thing is, the rights to this form and its derivatives have always belonged to Iittala, not the Aaltos. The vase became famous almost immediately: among other items, it represented Finland at the World Expo in Paris in 1937.

Alvar and Aino used the new vase in the interiors of the Savoy restaurant in the center of Helsinki, hence the name stuck. By the way, the restaurant is still open.

Although in one of the initial versions, Aalto named the vase Eskimo Leather Pants. Its shapes somehow reminded the designer of women's pants from the far North.

However, for the Savoy, Aalto sketched it in the style of the then-fashionable Nordic cubism. And its form, resembling both a wave and the shoreline of a lake or island, is actually an abstraction.

But most often this vase is known by the creators' surname. It's most commonly referred to as simply the Aalto vase. And that's not accidental either. In Finnish, Aalto means Wave. Such an interesting play on words.

The vase is not easy to produce: it's made by hand. Over 80 years of production, Iittala has released it in different colors and sizes. For a fan of art glass, of course, it's easier not to search for a rare vintage variant, but to buy the vase directly from Iittala.

However, if you have a desire to acquire a Savoy vase with a history, something special, maybe a certain color or size, then it makes sense to look for them from vintage sellers. They also appear in our collection from time to time.