2001.320.a-b, Richard Meier, Framed bowl, designed 1994

Designed by the architect Richard Meier and evidencing a highly formal modernist aesthetic, the curved glass bowl of this centerpiece balances on a refined, rectilinear metal frame. It is a signature work of Swid Powell that is part of the Framed Vessel Collection by Richard Meir, created in 1994. Meier's collection was described in Steuben's catalogue as "an exploration of contrasting materials and shapes, harmonized by the brilliant reflective surfaces of glass and metal...the essence of Meier's architectural aesthetic." For his bowl (and two vases), Meier reinterpreted in his own modernist idiom Michael Graves's historical interpretation of the ancient vessel type, a bold, competitive rejoineder, cast in a sleek, modern silverplate. The large shallow bowl is held in a rigid, geometric framework based on the right angle, a characteristic element of Meier's architectural and design vocabulary. Two master silversmiths were instrumental in fabricating Meier's designs: Ubaldo Vitali executed the prototypes and Michael Brophy produced the line for Steuben.

Jewel Stern, Charles Veneble and Kevin Tucker, ed. Modernism in American Silver: 20th Century Design. (New Haven: Yale University Press. 2005), 315.

Until 2001: The Wright Pawn & Jewelry Co., Houston, Texas [1]

From 2001: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from above

[1] See check and receipt in Collections Records Object File 2001.320.a-b

Apply to objects where number equals 2001.320.a-b