Not currently on display at the V&A

Odette

Fruit Bowl
1985 (designed), ca. 1987-1988 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The Odette fruit bowl is part of Bořek Šípek's Follies series for the Italian design editing firm Driade SpA, his first major client. Its title refers to a character in Marcel Proust’s cycle of novels Remembrance of Things Past . A related design, a pitcher with a pierced metal shield, is named Swann after the novel’s main character, who falls in love with Odette. The design shows the historicism of Šípek's work both in its overall form, which is reminiscent of a Renaissance compote or tazza, and its decorative detail of handles, painted scrollwork, and perforations.


Object details

Category
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Fruit Bowl
  • Stand
TitleOdette (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Porcelain, painted in blue, with silver-plated brass stand
Brief description
Fruit bowl, 'Odette', porcelain decorated in blue, in pierced silver-plated stand, designed by Bořek Šípek, made 1987-1988
Physical description
Fruit bowl, porcelain, with four handles attached to exterior, decorated in blue; this supported by a silver-plated brass stand with a pierced foot and high stem.
Dimensions
  • Height: 42cm
  • Diameter: 44cm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
Unmarked
Credit line
Purchase funded by the Friends of the V&A
Object history
The Odette fruit bowl is part of Bořek Šípek's Follies series for the Italian design editing firm Driade SpA, his first major client. Its title refers to a character in Marcel Proust’s cycle of novels Remembrance of Things Past . A related design, a pitcher with a pierced metal shield, is named Swann after the novel’s main character, who falls in love with Odette. The design shows the historicism of Šípek's work both in its overall form, which is reminiscent of a Renaissance compote or tazza, and its decorative detail of handles, painted scrollwork, and perforations.

Formerly in an anonymous private collection in San Jose, California, together with the Isotta bowl (Museum no. C.52-2011).
Production
Commissioned as part of Šípek's 'Follies' series for the Italian 'design editing' firm, Driade SpA. According to the vendor, this example is an early production piece dating from around 1987-1988.
Summary
The Odette fruit bowl is part of Bořek Šípek's Follies series for the Italian design editing firm Driade SpA, his first major client. Its title refers to a character in Marcel Proust’s cycle of novels Remembrance of Things Past . A related design, a pitcher with a pierced metal shield, is named Swann after the novel’s main character, who falls in love with Odette. The design shows the historicism of Šípek's work both in its overall form, which is reminiscent of a Renaissance compote or tazza, and its decorative detail of handles, painted scrollwork, and perforations.
Bibliographic references
  • Titus Eliens, Borek Šípek: Glas Design Arcvhitectuur (Assen: Drents Museum, 2006)
  • Philippe Louguet and Dagmar Sedlicka, Borek Šípek (Paris: Editions Dis Voir, 1999)
Collection
Accession number
C.51:1, 2-2011

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Record createdJuly 12, 2011
Record URL
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