MANTILLE: WHAT A VASE HAS TO DO WITH DIOR AND BALENCIAGA
Still a vase or already an art object? With its wide swinging body and slender neck, MANTILLE looks like an elegant sculpture that explores the boundary between utility object and end in itself.
But you don't have to choose one or the other. Whether you decorate the vase with a single dramatic flower such as a lily or a dragon flower, or it forms a stand-alone eye-catcher on your sideboard: Trude Petri's classic refers to the experimental design language of the 1950s - and is therefore very much back in fashion. The artist designed it for KPM in 1957 and set new standards with it (as she did with the design of the URBINO collection).
New look meets flamenco
What could have brought Trude Petri to this unique shape becomes apparent when you take a look at the fashion of the time. The high-waisted figure of the MANTILLE echoes the hourglass silhouette of a Christian Dior and subtly refers to the ideal of female beauty of the time. As if she were a dancer, the sweeping lines of the vase create the impression of movement. Does this hint at the flamenco-inspired evening wear of Cristóbal Balenciaga? The name of the vase could give a clue, because in Spanish the "mantilla" is a veil or cloak that covers the head and shoulders. Trude Petri has ingeniously adapted this for the vase: the relief made of velvety biscuit porcelain certainly looks like a carefully draped cloth that forms an exciting contrast to the glazed surfaces of the expansive belly. Together, they create a harmonious overall picture - and probably one of the most beautiful shapes that the designer has ever created for KPM. How would you display this work of art, er, vase?
