Labrador
Sauceboat and Serving Spoon
1982 (designed), ca.1982 (made)
1982 (designed), ca.1982 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The Labrador sauce boat was created by the theorist and designer Andrea Branzi for the second Memphis collection, a group of objects that saw the collective moving from the limited repertoire of the original 1981 collection, which consisted of laminated furniture and metal lamp, into more luxurious materials and small scale domestic wares. These included not only silver plate but also ceramics, glass and marble.
Although the Labrador's overall shape suggests a kitsch reference to an ice cream cone, the organic forms of its cast support and spoon connects the object to the neoprimiitivist 'Domestic Animal' furniture that Branzi would go on to execute in 1985, which incorporated actual branches into their design. The naturalistic elements in relation to a rigid geometric form in the Labrador seems an attempt to re-establish a system of links and functions which are not restricted to ergonomic and functional relations.
Although the Labrador's overall shape suggests a kitsch reference to an ice cream cone, the organic forms of its cast support and spoon connects the object to the neoprimiitivist 'Domestic Animal' furniture that Branzi would go on to execute in 1985, which incorporated actual branches into their design. The naturalistic elements in relation to a rigid geometric form in the Labrador seems an attempt to re-establish a system of links and functions which are not restricted to ergonomic and functional relations.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 4 parts.
|
| Title | Labrador (manufacturer's title) |
| Materials and techniques | Electroplated nickel silver on a glass stand |
| Brief description | Sauceboat, electroplated nickel silver and glass, 'Labrador', designed by Andrea Branzi, for Memphis, Milan, 1982. |
| Physical description | Sauce boat in electroplated nickel silver in the form of an inverted cone with a detachable lid supported by a stand with a glass base, rounded at one end, squared at the other. The support of cast metal in the form of an S shaped branch with buds, which turns at right angles at the top and splits into two branches which straddle and support the cone. There is an internal liner, cone shaped with a protruding pin at the base to stabilize it within the outer sleeve. The metal upright is secured through the glass base by a steel screw. The lid has a rectangular cut out section at the rim to accommodate the spoon |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | MEMPHIS / MILAN (Stamped on the front of the body and on the lid) |
| Production | Early edition |
| Summary | The Labrador sauce boat was created by the theorist and designer Andrea Branzi for the second Memphis collection, a group of objects that saw the collective moving from the limited repertoire of the original 1981 collection, which consisted of laminated furniture and metal lamp, into more luxurious materials and small scale domestic wares. These included not only silver plate but also ceramics, glass and marble. Although the Labrador's overall shape suggests a kitsch reference to an ice cream cone, the organic forms of its cast support and spoon connects the object to the neoprimiitivist 'Domestic Animal' furniture that Branzi would go on to execute in 1985, which incorporated actual branches into their design. The naturalistic elements in relation to a rigid geometric form in the Labrador seems an attempt to re-establish a system of links and functions which are not restricted to ergonomic and functional relations. |
| Bibliographic reference | ed. Glenn Adamson and Jane Pavitt, Postmodernism Style and Suversion, 1970-1990, London, Victoria and Albert Museum, 2011
p.43. pl.44
Catherine Rossi, "How Memphis was Made" in Crafts Magazine, ed. Grant Gibson, London, Crafts Council, September / October 2011, issue 232, p.63. ill. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.34:1 to 4-2010 |
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| Record created | November 11, 2010 |
| Record URL |
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