Flower Vase by Alvar Aalto

Aalto Vase—completely natural. While many European designers glorified the industrial revolution, their Scandinavian colleagues turned to nature. Alvar Aalto was a trendsetter with his organic forms, as seen in the Savoy vase—was one of the trendsetters; his vase is world-famous today. The same natural forms recur time and again in his work: in the undulating walls of the Finnish Pavilion at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, in the architecture of the Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus, in armchairs, screen partitions, and tea carts.

Gently curved vase

Aalto was firmly convinced that design should be human down to the smallest detail. At Iittala ’s request, Alvar Aalto created the Aalto vase in various shapes, sizes, and colors for the 1937 World’s Fair in Paris. As the son of a cartographer, the vase’s soft silhouette was likely inspired by the organic forms of Finnish landscapes and lakes.

Aalto Vase: A Design Classic

The timeless Aalto vase is one of the world’s most famous glass objects; it is synonymous with Finnish glass art and the manufacturer Iittala . Today, the Aalto vase is the undisputed classic among designer vases. The so-called Savoy Alvar Aalto is on display in the world’s most important design museums and is available in various colors.