Coffee Service
Albert Feinauer
1929–1930
- Medium
- Silver plate and cane
- Dimensions
- Coffeepot: 23.9 × 8.9 × 8.9 cm (9 3/8 × 3 1/2 × 3 1/2 in.); Creamer: 10.6 × 6.4 × 8.9 cm (4 3/16 × 2 1/2 × 3 1/2 in.); Sugar bowl: 6.4 × 14.6 × 9.8 cm (2 1/2 × 5 3/4 × 3 7/8 in.)
- Genre
- coffee service
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Styles
Tags
CubismModernismsilvercoffee servicediningcane (plant material)Drinkingdecorative arts
About
This dynamic coffee service exemplifies German émigré Albert Feinauer’s unique blend of modernist forms in his designs for the American market. The cylindrical and spherical shapes of the three vessels are indebted to German Bauhaus principles of clean lines and geometric simplicity, while the stepped pattern of right-angle lines, circles, and arcs suggest the fragmented and discontinuous lines of Cubism. Feinauer’s designs for the International Silver Company unfortunately coincided with the devastating stock market crash of 1929, which halted the company’s production of these modern wares.