Designer:  Shiro Kuramata (1934 – 1991)

Item: Volume Spice Set

Manufactured by: Sointu

Country of origin: Japan

Year made:  1980

Materials:  Enameled Aluminum

Dimensions: 3” x 2 ¼” x 2 ¼”  

Condition: Very good used condition.  A few spots of loss to enamel, but minimal.  When we got this it still had pepper inside, but it looks to have been only very lightly used.  

References: Sudjic, Deyan, SHIRO KURAMATA (a monograph), Phaidon, 2013; SHIRO KURAMATA 1934-1991, exh. cat., Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, TOKYO, 1996, p. 158.

Description:  Kuramata is considered by many to be one of, if not the most important Japanese modern designer of the twentieth century.  Some of his designs are icons of modern design that can be found in just about every major museum collection in the world.  He was invited to design several works for the Memphis Design Group based on an invitation from Memphis’s founder Ettore Sottsass.  Kuramata won many awards for his designs in his lifetime, especially his Glass Chair made with laminated slabs of glass, his High High the Moon Armchair made of wire mesh steel and his Furniture in an Irregular Forms Side 1 wavy formed dresser.  This spice set can be found in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and others.  

Unsigned as it was originally issued.  Although these have recently been available as a reissue by Kuramata Design Office and marketed by Rakuten Global Market, the reissued production is marked on the bottom with his signature, and these new ones are still expensive.  Examples from the original production are difficult to find and it appears they were probably only produced in very limited numbers.