"Guanyin, " Superb and Ambitious Mid-Century Sculpture by Dorothy Thorpe
About the Item
- Creator:Dorothy Thorpe (Sculptor)
- Dimensions:Height: 33 in (83.82 cm)Width: 10 in (25.4 cm)Depth: 6 in (15.24 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:Resin,Cast
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1960
- Condition:Overall excellent; tips of figures on left hand missing.
- Seller Location:Philadelphia, PA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU86513560942
Dorothy Thorpe
Dorothy Thorpe glassware was a chic staple of every mid-century modern wet bar, particularly her festive Roly Poly silver-banded tumblers. Although not as widely known as such contemporaries as Eva Zeisel and Edith Heath, Thorpe was one of a group of creative and entrepreneurial women whose designs captured the imagination of the postwar homeowner with her modern and cheery works.
Thorpe was born in Salt Lake City in 1901 and settled in Los Angeles as a young woman. She began creating her signature glassware using the trade name Dorothy Thorpe Originals in the 1930s. Thorpe was a designer, not a glassblower. To create her shimmering wares, she purchased glass blanks from a variety of manufacturers and subjected them to various techniques, including sandblasting, etching and silver overlay.
Initially Art Deco in style, the pieces were signed with a large T and smaller D. Thorpe also worked in ceramics and, in the 1940s, with Lucite, producing a line of household items, such as magazine racks, sculptural lamps, candlesticks and umbrella stands.
After World War II, Thorpe was inspired by a new interest in the flowers and animals of the South Pacific and began incorporating tropical floral motifs into her work. She traveled to Hawaii and studied local irises, roses, azaleas, narcissus and eucalyptus. The decorative patterns based on these studies were created primarily by sandblasting, which makes a glass surface appear frosted.
From the 1930s through the ’50s, Thorpe’s designs won her many fans among the members of café society, including Princess Grace of Monaco and the Shah of Iran. They were also widely imitated. Vintage tumblers that bear a silver stripe around the rim but lack the “DT” signature on the bottom are not Thorpe originals.
In the 1950s, Thorpe created the glassware line Atomic Splash, which featured the energetic geometric patterns that were so popular at the time. Atomic Splash patterned drinking glasses and serving dishes bore a silver overlay that evoked an explosion.
Thorpe also designed a line of ceramic tableware decorated with a wreath of spring flowers in collaboration with Crown Lynn Pottery, in New Zealand, and, in the mid-’60s, created coffee sets for the Santa Barbara and Monterey companies. Among her own ceramics products were lines glazed in the eye-catching shades of Orange Persimmon and Blue Periwinkle.
Find vintage Dorothy Thorpe glasses and tableware for sale on 1stDibs.
You May Also Like
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Busts
Resin
Mid-20th Century Mexican Mid-Century Modern Animal Sculptures
Resin
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin
Vintage 1960s American Hollywood Regency Figurative Sculptures
Resin
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Lucite
Mid-20th Century Central American Mid-Century Modern Animal Sculptures
Lucite
20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
Glass
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Candlesticks
Gold Plate
Vintage 1970s French Mid-Century Modern Candlesticks
Brass
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Glass
Silver Leaf
More From This Seller
View AllVintage 1930s American Art Deco Figurative Sculptures
Wood
Vintage 1930s American Art Deco Figurative Sculptures
Terracotta
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Lucite
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Animal Sculptures
Porcelain
Vintage 1950s German Mid-Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Clay
