Designer: Richard Meier (born 1934)

Item: Pitcher

Manufactured by: Cleto Munari for Swid Powell

Country of origin: Italy

Year made: Circa 1986

Materials: Silverplate over brass

Dimensions: 8 ½” x 9” x 4”

Condition: Very good with some light scratches and tarnish that will polish out. We had photographed prior to being polished, but we have since polished it and most of the tarnish came off.

References: Tapert, Annette. SWID POWELL: Objects by Architects, Rizzoli, 1990.

Description:  Here is another important Meier design for Swid Powell.  This water pitcher demonstrates Meier’s devotion to to his roots in the early 20th century designs of Joseph Hoffman and Charles Rennie MacKintosh, and modernism of the mid-20th century by modern masters such as Le Corbusier and Marcel Breuer, who Meier spent three years working for prior to starting his own firm in 1963. This is a heavy and very made object produced by the master silversmiths at Cleto Munari in Milan. Fully hallmarked on the bottom as shown. We have seen these pitchers used for both their intended purpose, but also as flower vases.

Provenance: Marc Hacker, Vice President for Design and Development at Swid Powell.  Hacker is an architect who studied with Michael Graves at Princeton University.  Upon graduating he moved to New York City and was recommended for a job working for architect Richard Meier.  As a result of his work for Meier, Hacker was hired by Swid Powell, because they needed a formally trained architect to work with their stable of architects and designers to achieve the final objects produced for sale.  Hamel20, LLC is honored to represent the Hacker collection of Swid Powell objects, which includes prototypes and designs that were never produced for sale.