This is a prototype for a series of 11 tea and coffee services. Officina Alessi, a subdivision of Alessi s.p.a. of Milan, commissioned the series from international architects. It was made in silver in a limited edition of 99.

The economic recessions of the 1970s and 1980s permanently altered the manufacturing industries of Europe. The optimism of the immediate post-war period was swept away. After the Second World War, design had been concerned with changing society. By the 1980s, it was associated merely with marketing and ‘lifestyle’. Silversmiths could no longer subsidise their craft by design consultancies. Nor could they claim that they were part of the mainstream culture. The individual silversmith returned to operating in a niche market. In some respects, this had a curiously liberating effect. In Europe from the 1970s, there was increasing attention on personal expression, often using curved, sensual surfaces. There was less emphasis on a unified aesthetic philosophy and the range of work became more diverse.

In Italy, postmodern experiments redefined the public perception of modernism. With their Tea & Coffee Piazza series, Alessi created a group of startling tableaux that excited world attention. Barely functional, some incorporated obvious historical references. All show a degree of deconstruction, an architectural and sculptural movement that surfaced during the 1980s.