Not on display

Cake Slice

1992 (made)
Artist/Maker
Seppa, Heikki (designer and maker)
Place of origin
Saint Louis (made)

Hekki Seppa developed and reinvigorated this structural technique in the USA. Dozens- probably hundreds- of silversmiths have learned anti- and synclastic raising in workshops he has given all over the country. The simple form he has created is very powerful in its expression. The stark directness of this server seems to relate to a very Scandinavian approach to design, in which the functional gives way to the sculptural if there is an aesthetic advantage to be gained. It is part of the free-form movement begun in the 1950s that combined innovative boldness with conservative tradition. Seppa has handled this brief with characteristic clarity and control, creating organic references through abstract statement.

Object details

Categories
Eating
Metalwork
Object type
Cake slice
Materials and techniques
Silver
Silver
Brief description
Silver, USA, St. Louis, Missouri, 1992, designed and made by Heikki Seppa
Physical description
The blade is trowel-shaped, but the resemblance to a trowel ends there. The triangular blade is grasped at the rear and back right edge by a rising, hollow, curling handle that is very strong by reason of the anticlastic-synclastic bi-shell-forming structure technique pioneered by Seppa. It is surprisingly comfortable in the hand and effective to use.
Dimensions
  • Length: 25.5cm
  • Weight: 366g
Marks and inscriptions
  • Mark of Heikki Seppa

  • STERLING

Gallery label
(2005)
This collection of silver slices, all commissioned over a period of twenty years by Professor Benton Seymour Rabinovitch FRS, is proof of the skill and diversity of contemporary silversmiths. Each artist craftsman has responded to the familiar functional form of the slice in an individual way, producing an astonishingly diverse range of interpretations. Each piece becomes an enchanting, decorative work of art. Professor Rabinovitch established a close rapport with each artist, always encouraging a freedom of creative expression. The response of these silversmiths has been not only to be strikingly imaginative but also to honour him by giving him their best work.

This collection is testimony to the significant contribution that one individual can make to supporting the craft of silversmithing. After commissioning work from some of the most illustrious names in British and North American silversmithing, Professor Rabinovitch has very generously donated his entire collection to the Victoria and Albert Museum, through the American Friends of the V&A.
Credit line
Given by the American Friends of the V&A through the generosity of Professor B. Seymour Rabinovitch
Historical context
Part of a collection of fish slices commissioned by Professor Rabinovitch from contemporary North American and British makers.
Summary
Hekki Seppa developed and reinvigorated this structural technique in the USA. Dozens- probably hundreds- of silversmiths have learned anti- and synclastic raising in workshops he has given all over the country. The simple form he has created is very powerful in its expression. The stark directness of this server seems to relate to a very Scandinavian approach to design, in which the functional gives way to the sculptural if there is an aesthetic advantage to be gained. It is part of the free-form movement begun in the 1950s that combined innovative boldness with conservative tradition. Seppa has handled this brief with characteristic clarity and control, creating organic references through abstract statement.
Bibliographic reference
Benton Seymour Rabinovitch and Helen Clifford, Contemporary Silver, commissioning designing collecting, London, Merrell, pp.144-5. ill. ISBN.1858941040
Other number
LOAN:AMERICANFRIENDS.144-2005 - previous loan number
Collection
Metalwork Collection
Accession number
M.117-2008

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Record createdMay 12, 2008
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O154472/cake-slice-seppa-heikki/
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