Designer: Calvin Tsao (b. 1952) & Zack McKown (b. 1952)

Item: Water Pitcher

Manufactured by: Cleto Munari for Swid Powell

Country of origin: Italy

Year made: 1993

Materials: Silverplate over brass

Dimensions: 9 ¼” x 8 ½” x 5 ½”

Condition: Very good with some surface scratches from use.  

Description: The architecture firm and team of Tsao & McKown was established in 1985 and commissioned by Swid Powell in 1992 to design table top objects such as china, frames and candlesticks.  Examples of their Swid Powell designs, as well as their original design drawings, can be found in the permanent collection of Yale University Art Gallery.  Examples of this pitcher are hard to find and were likely only produced for one or two seasons and were among the last of the Cleto Munari manufactured objects for Swid Powell. Production of silverwares for Swid Powell were moved to Argentia shortly after these were made. Hallmarked inside the handle as shown.

Calvin Tsao is a recognized and leading voice in contemporary architecture whose work draws from a lively engagement with a variety of art forms. He serves on the Board of The American Academy in Rome and is an active board member and President Emeritus of The Architectural League of New York. He is also former Vice President for Design Excellence of the AIA New York chapter, and served several years as member of the Visiting Committee to Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. In 2012 Tsao received a Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Legacy Award and in 2009 the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian National Design Award for Interior Design, along with his partner Zach McKown. A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, he has taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the Cooper Union, Syracuse University, and at Parsons The New School for Design, and has also served as guest critic and lectured at universities internationally.