Jazz Bowl


The New Yorker is the name given to Viktor Schreckengost’s best-known piece—a large, parabolic, Egyptian blue punch bowl commissioned by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1931. According to Schreckengost, Mrs. Roosevelt was so impressed that she quickly ordered 2 more: one for Hyde Park and one for the White House. The large bowl was then put into production by the Cowan Pottery, where at least 11 unique designs were executed including a flared variety, less costly "Poor Man's Bowls" and matching plates--The Jazz Series. While the pieces gained much critical acclaim at the time, attention waned after the 1930s.
In 2006, Viktor reissued his Jazz Series, in cooperation with the Cleveland Institute of Art, where a team of 15 students took over the ceramics department to issue a second series of bowls and plates.

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General references