Müller-Munk, like many designers in America during the early twentieth century, was born and trained in Europe, and his work reflects contemporary trends in European design. After the Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in 1925, the French Art Deco style became popular in America, evident in objects like this tea service. The rigid, geometric pattern incised on the sterling-silver kettle highlights the object’s industrial production and contrasts with the natural material used for the curved, tusklike ivory handle.
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Artwork Details
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:Kettle on stand with burner
Designer:Peter Müller-Munk (American (born Germany) Berlin 1904–1967 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Date:ca. 1931
Medium:Silver and ivory
Dimensions:a - kettle: 5 in. × 10 1/2 in. × 3 3/4 in. (12.7 × 26.7 × 9.5 cm) b - stand: 4 1/8 × 9 1/4 × 6 7/8 in. (10.5 × 23.5 × 17.5 cm) c - burner: 2 1/4 × 5 5/8 in. (5.7 × 14.3 cm)
Classification:Metalwork-Silver
Credit Line:Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Isenburger, 1978
Object Number:1978.439.1a-c
Inscription: On kettle (underside, stamped): P [within a circle] / PETER MÜLLER-MUNK; on stand (stamped): PETER MULLER-MUNK
Marking: On kettle (underside, stamped): HANDWROUGHT / STERLING SILVER / 925/1000; on stand (stamped): STERLING SILVER / 925 / 1000; on burner (underside, stamped): STERLING SILVER / 925 / 1000
Mr. and Mrs. Herbert R. Isenburger (1931–78; their gift to MMA)
Washington, D. C. Renwick Gallery, National Museum of American Art. "American Art Deco," April 17–July 26, 1987.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "American Modern, 1925–1940: Design for a New Age," May 16, 2000–January 7, extended to February 4, 2001, unnumbered cat. (p. 39).
Newport Beach, Calif. Orange County Museum of Art. "American Modern, 1925–1940: Design for a New Age," May 25–August 19, 2001, unnumbered cat.
Flint, Mich. Flint Institute of Arts. "American Modern, 1925–1940: Design for a New Age," September 14–December 16, 2001, unnumbered cat.
Philadelphia. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. "American Modern, 1925–1940: Design for a New Age," January 11–April 7, 2002, unnumbered cat.
Charlotte. Mint Museum of Craft and Design. "American Modern, 1925–1940: Design for a New Age," May 3–July 28, 2002, unnumbered cat.
Tulsa. Philbrook Museum of Art. "American Modern, 1925–1940: Design for a New Age," August 23–November 17, 2002, unnumbered cat.
London. Victoria and Albert Museum. "Art Deco 1910–1939," March 27–July 20, 2003, unnumbered cat. (pl. 32.1).
Toronto. Royal Ontario Museum. "Art Deco 1910–1939," September 15, 2003–January 4, 2004, unnumbered cat.
California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "Art Deco 1910–1939," March 13–July 5, 2004, unnumbered cat.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. "Art Deco 1910–1939," September 19, 2004–January 9, 2005, unnumbered cat.
Pittsburgh. Carnegie Museum of Art. "Silver to Steel: The Modern Designs of Peter Muller-Munk," November 21, 2015–March 14, 2016, extended to April 11, 2016, unnumbered cat. (p. 42).
New York. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. "The Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920s," April 7–August 20, 2017, no. 264.
Cleveland Museum of Art. "The Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920s," September 30, 2017–January 14, 2018, no. 264.
Jewel Stern inCraft in the Machine Age: 1920–1945. Ed. Janet Kardon. Exh. cat., American Craft Museum. New York, 1995, p. 127.
Rachel Delphia and Jewel Stern inSilver to Steel: The Modern Designs of Peter Muller-Munk. Exh. cat., Carnegie Museum of Art. Pittsburgh, 2015, pp. 9, 174 n. 6.
Jewel Stern inSilver to Steel: The Modern Designs of Peter Muller-Munk. Exh. cat., Carnegie Museum of Art. Pittsburgh, 2015, pp. 42–43, 177 nn. 91–95, p. 189, fig. 24 (color).
Emily M. Orr inThe Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920s. Exh. cat., Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York. Cleveland, 2017, pp. 287, 289, 354, no. 264 , fig. 353 (color).
Peter Müller-Munk (American (born Germany) Berlin 1904–1967 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
1931
Resources for Research
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
The Met's engagement with art from 1890 to today includes the acquisition and exhibition of works in a range of media, spanning movements in modernism to contemporary practices from across the globe.
