Shiny metal pitcher with teardrop-shaped footprint and a simple metal handle that connects at the top and bottom of the rounded side.

1935

Pitcher, Normandie

Designed by: Peter Müller-Munk (1904–1967)

Material: Chromium-plated brass

Produced by: Revere Copper and Brass Company, Rome, New York

Dimensions: 30.4 x 24.4 x 7.7 cm

The Liliane and David M. Stewart Program for Modern Design, gift of Roy Poretzky, 2007.50.29*

This pitcher was inspired by and named for a famed French ocean liner, the Normandie, which made its maiden voyage in 1935, the same year this pitcher was introduced. As the fastest passenger ship, it was an appropriate model for this streamlined design, seen in the tear drop form and the smooth and windswept curves.

Emigré designer Müller-Munk arrived in New York from Germany in 1926, working first as a silversmith then transitioning to create such mass-produced designs as this, becoming a leader in the emerging profession of industrial design.

The Stewart Program for Modern Design, photo: Denis Farley.