To those familiar with the prolific career of the Hungarian-born designer Eva Zeisel it will come as no surprise to learn that the justly-celebrated 102-year-old ceramicist has added more new work to her portfolio. The design blog Apartment Therapy recently reported on Zeisel’s collaboration with The Rug Company, for whom she created three original designs based on abstract and natural forms derived from her previous work.
These new rugs offer a wonderful sampling of Zeisel’s signature design elements: the Fish rug captures muted tones and tranquil motion; Lacy X is arranged as a subtle web with a neutral color palette; and Dimple Spindle offers a colorful and playful massing of “belly button” shapes, which comes from the design of a ceramic wall divider made for the Marcolini pottery in Italy in 1958. Here the carved pile adds tactility and a sense of the original sculptural effect. Each hand-knotted Tibetan wool rug (Lacy X is also made with silk) is available exclusively at The Rug Company stores (see their website for locations) in stock colors and sizes (9′ x 6′) that range in price from $4,860 to $8,095, and can also be ordered in custom specifications.
Zeisel began making ceramics while still a teenager, working as an apprentice, and soon after as a designer for manufacturers in Germany and in Russia. She came to the United States in 1938, and began teaching ceramics at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and continued to produce designs for various industrial manufacturers. Zeisel’s organic and uniquely elegant designs came to prominence in the 1940s when she was asked to design a tableware service for Castleton China in partnership with the Museum of Modern Art. Also among her most recognizable designs are the biomorphic salt and pepper shakers from the Town and Country service made by Red Wing Pottery.
While her vintage pieces command top prices from collectors, in recent years Zeisel has also developed designs for a wider audience at affordable prices. She collaborated with Klein Reid in making porcelain vases and serving pieces; she designed a stainless steel teakettle for Chantal Cookware; and her Classic Century tableware from 1952 has been reissued by Crate & Barrel.
