Ettore Sottsass
Italian, born Austria, 1917–2007
Manufactured by BD Barcelona
Shiva Vase
INV-2381
Ettore Sottsass
Italian, born Austria, 1917–2007
Manufactured by BD Barcelona1973
design
Date
1973
Medium
Glazed earthenware
Dimensions
24.1 × 17.8 × 7.6 cm (9 1/2 × 7 × 3 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Gift of Michael Jefferson and Heidi Mucha
The Shiva Vase exemplifies the playful and iconoclastic nature of Ettore Sottsass’s work. Although the piece is domestic in scale, like the vases of his Ruins series, he referred to it as one of his “small, small architectures,” which he likened to ancient monuments and abandoned temples. The Shiva Vase also alludes to lingam shrines to the Hindu god that he encountered on repeated trips to India, beginning in 1961.