Finnish architect Alvar Aalto (1898–1976) designed what is commonly referred to as the Savoy Vase in 1936. Aalto is known for using organic forms in his architecture, bentwood furniture designs, and glass.

The initial design for the vase was one of ten free-form object designs (ranging from a shallow dish to a tall vase) roughly sketched in crayon and pencil on colored paper by Aalto for a 1936 competition organized by Finland’s prominent glassworks, Karhula and Iittala. The purpose of the competition was to determine what would be showcased in the Swedish Pavilion inside the 1937 Paris World’s Fair. Fun fact: The vase was given the Swedish code name Eskimoerindens skinnbuxa (Eskimo woman’s leather pants) when it was entered in the competition. There are a couple of theories when it comes to Aalto’s inspiration for the piece. One is that the shape was inspired by Eskimo women’s pants (hence the code name); another is that the piece mimics the waves in Finland’s lake-rich landscape; conveniently, “aalto” in Finnish means “waves.”

The same year, Aalto and his wife, architect Aino Marsio Aalto, were commissioned to design custom furnishings and fixtures for a new luxury restaurant in Helsinki called the Savoy. The vase won first prize at the Paris exhibition and was also selected for the Savoy. Aalto created the initial prototypes by blowing glass through the center of an arrangement of wooden sticks stuck in the ground. The glass swelled only in some places, creating undulating shapes.

The vase’s production was not straightforward. Aalto tried to replicate his original by using thin sheets of steel to form the shape with the help of steel pegs, but the curves were too pointed. Wooden molds did the trick and were used up until 1954, when they were replaced with cast iron ones. The original height of the Savoy vase was 140 millimeters (5.5 inches), made in clear, brown, sky blue, sea green, and smoke glass. Today, the Iittala factory still produces the Savoy vase in various sizes along with other vases from the 1936 series. However, the designation “Aalto” is used for all of them, and they are distinguished only by their product number.

Each Savoy vase takes seven craftspeople over 30 hours to create, with 12 stages of production. Various glassmaking techniques are used; to finish, the piece is put in an annealing kiln, where the vessel slowly cools to eliminate any internal stress in its glass. The Savoy vase is part of the permanent collections of several museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum.