The design of products can relay various insights about the society and culture in which they have been produced. This set of four plates by Finnish industrial designer Antti Nurmesniemi is a great example of this.

Finnish design is appreciated around the world for its minimalistic appearance, playful ruggedness and strict functionalism. In many pieces, design is sometimes ranked as a secondary feature since a product primarily serves its practical tasks. Therefore, unique design is generally regarded as a feature of exclusive products. In the second half of the 20th century, a great deal of Finnish design products utilised a mode of production still based more on handicrafts than completely mechanised mass production.

These four pieces of beautifully carved and laminated plywood plates exemplify these characteristics of Finnish design. While functionality – especially in kitchenware – remain at the core, the raised detail in the centre of these plates adds a design element that makes them distinctive. The wooden pattern follows the curves, accentuating the centre. The plates are marked with the maker’s mark on the bottom.

SOLD

Condition:

In very good vintage condition. Almost no signs of wear. Items come in their original cardboard packaging.

Dimensions:

15.55 in Ø x 1.97 in H

39.5 cm Ø x 5 cm H

About the designer:

Antti Aarre Nurmesniemi (1927 – 2003) was a Finnish interior designer and design professor, who is widely known for his iconic sauna stool designed in 1952 for the Helsinki Palace Hotel and his enamelled coffee pots designed in 1957 for Wärtsilä. The professor is regarded as one of the designers who made Finnish design world famous among with such other important designers as Alvar Aalto, Eero Aarnio, Tapio Wirkkala, and Yrjö Kukkapuro.

He studied at the University of Arts and Design Helsinki before entering into an architectural practice from 1951 to 1956. He proceeded to create a wide range of products, including pieces of furniture, telephones, and kitchenware. Antti Nurmesniemi designed furniture for numerous Finnish companies like Vuokko, Piiroinen and Merivaara, as well as Artek and Cassina Italy.

Nurmesniemi remains well-known in Finland thanks to his iconic red and orange metro cars designed together with Börje Rajalin for the city of Helsinki. The metro interior is one of the strangest designer collaborations ever. Nurmesniemi and Rajalin, the lead designer at Kaleva Koru (Kaleva Jewellery) created the red-orange seats and metal bars in the early 1980s with the intention to use the bright colours as a contrast to the heavily grey Helsinki.

Today, his works have been widely included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; the Röhska Museum, Sweden; Kunsindustrimuseet, Oslo; Philadelphia Museum of Applied Art and the Seibu Museum of Art, Tokyo. During his long career as an industrial designer, Nurmesniemi has received numerous prizes and honours, inlcuding the Grand Prix at the Milan Triennal in 1960 and 1964, the Pro Finlandia medal, The Lunning Award, State Design Award, Finland, and the 5th International Design Award, Osaka. The Estlander-medal was awarded to the him in 2000. ~H.