|
Now here's restaurant-ware I can really get into! In my opinion, Russel Wright's Sterling China Company coffee cups are among his most elegant designs. Their graceful curves and brilliant color palette is truly stunning. This is amazing, given the fact that this was the first line Wright designed for institutional use, necessitating his adherence to size and use standards. Given the line's ease of use and fluid curves, I'd say it was a great success as far as design is concerned.
One thing about these cups I'm taken with are the handles. They are remarkable similar to those from his Highlight line for Paden City Pottery (1948), as well as Ben Seibel's designs for Roseville's Raymor Modern Stoneware (1952) and Pfaltzgraff's Country-Time (c. 1952). The handle gently emerging from a cup's lip is one element of MCM cup design that I wish would have taken a more firm hold in our cultural design lexicon. I rarely see it used as a design element today, which is unfortunate.
Found on December 19, 2007 in Champaign, IL.
|
