Ilonka Karasz Modernist Metal Bowls or Vessels, Matching Pair

The construction is both architectural and sculptural. Sharp right angle supports intersect with rounded and sharply sloping forms, creating an unusual balance of geometry, reflection, and open space. The powerful use of metal recalls the work of the French firm Desny, whose designs similarly transformed functional objects into expressions of modern architecture.

The broad circular openings allow the pieces to function as bowls, vases, or decorative containers. Displayed together, their strong silhouettes and reflective surfaces create an especially dramatic presentation. This is a rare opportunity to own a matching pair representing an important moment in American Modernist design.

Ilonka Karasz (1896–1981) was a Hungarian born American designer and illustrator whose work included metalware, furniture, ceramics, textiles, wallpaper, carpets, lighting, and toys. She studied at the Royal Academy of Arts and Crafts in Budapest, where she was among the first women admitted, before moving to New York in 1913. In 1914, she co-founded the Society of Modern Art with Winold Reiss and later became the founding director of Design Group, Inc. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Karasz is also celebrated for creating more than 180 covers for The New Yorker, helping to establish the magazine’s sophisticated modern visual identity. Her work brought European Modernism, the influence of the Wiener Werkstätte, and her own powerful sense of geometry into American decorative and industrial design. New York Public Library

These extraordinary vessels are not simply decorative objects but genuine pieces of twentieth century cultural and industrial design history.

Modern Exhibits in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, The Cooper Hewitt Museum https://www.cooperhewitt.org/channel/ilonka-karasz

There certainly has been much written and admired about her career.

https://daniellaondesign.com/blog/remembering-ilonka-karasz