Prevailing against a view from most manufacturers that women didn't know machinery, Belle Kogan (1902–2000) distinguished herself as one of the few American women industrial designers active during the founding years of the profession in the late 1920s. She was the first woman to establish her own independent consulting firm, building a staff of three female designers by 1939. For the design of this cup and saucer in 1935, Kogan drew upon the influences of European avant-garde artistic movements and adapted them for a modern American audience.
Metropolis
Object Details
- Date
- designed 1935; patented 1936
- Designer
- Belle Kogan, American, 1902–2000
- Manufacturer
- Erphila
- Importer:
- Ebeling & Reuss, Incorporated, American
- Catalogue Status
- Research in Progress
- Description
- A white cup and saucer depicting an abstract outdoor scene. Image is on both inside and outside of cup. The saucer has brown stripes around the rim.
- manufactured in
- Germany
- See more items in
- Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection
- Product Design and Decorative Arts Department
- Credit Line
- Gift of Belle Kogan
- Data Source
- Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
- Accession Number
- 1994-55-1-a,b
- Type
- ceramics
- Decorative Arts
- Object Name
- Cup and saucer
- Type
- Cup and saucer
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Medium
- Glazed earthenware
- Dimensions
- H x W (a, b: overall): 5.6 x 7.8 cm (2 3/16 x 3 1/16 in.)
- Record ID
- chndm_1994-55-1-a_b