Design 
31 March 2022
Design 
119

Michael Graves

Piazza tea and coffee service with tray

Alessi
USA / Italy, 1980 / 1991
sterling silver, glass, plastic, enameled aluminum coffee pot: 9¾ h × 10 w × 4¾ d in (25 × 25 × 12 cm) tray: 3¼ h × 16¼ dia in (8 × 41 cm)
estimate: $10,000–15,000
result: $18,750
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This service is number 51 from the edition of 99 and is comprised of one teapot, one coffee pot, one lidded sugar bowl with spoon, one creamer, and one tray; five pieces total. Impressed manufacturer's mark to each example ‘Officina Alessi 1991 51/99 Italy 925’ and to spoon ‘925’ with Italian hallmarks.
literature: Michael Graves: Buildings and Projects 1966-1981, Vogel Wheeler, Arnal and Bickford, ppg. 248-249 Designed by Architects in the 1980s, Capella and Larrea, pg. 78
An example of this design is in the permanent collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

This work will ship from Rago in Lambertville, New Jersey.

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Tea & Coffee with a
Dash of Postmodernism

Famed architect Michael Graves designed this set for Alessi as part of their “Tea and Coffee Piazza” program in the 1980s. They commissioned 11 architects to design tea sets, the tray serving as the piazza and the vessels as buildings. Graves’ set became the most popular, with its whimsical mixture of Greco-Roman forms, splashes of vivid color, and clean, postmodern simplicity. It harkened back to Josef Hoffmann’s architecturally-inspired designs from the early 20th century while staying true to the Memphis-style designs that were all the rage at the time. He would go on to design countless other popular household objects for Alessi, many of which remain in production to this day.

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