Sybilla by Ettore Sottsass

“Sybilla”, vase-sculpture in Sèvres porcelain by Ettore Sottsass.

Sculptural vase in Sèvres porcelain, stemming from the first collaboration between the Master and the Manufacture between 1994 and 1996, a partnership that produced fourteen vases and a centrepiece distinguished by exceptionally subtle colour harmonies.

This vertical composition stands out through its stacking of volumes combining organic and architectural lines, alternating elements in deep black porcelain, matte white, and a delicate salmon-orange tone with satin-like reflections. The elongated silhouette, crowned by a wide flared vessel at the top, evokes a contemporary totem in which balance, proportion, and chromatic contrast become essential compositional elements.

Here, Sottsass fully expresses his characteristic visual language: a free, almost anthropomorphic geometry, where forms seem to converse in a subtle tension between monumentality and lightness. The contrast between glossy and matte surfaces reinforces the sculptural presence of the piece, while the technical excellence of Sèvres porcelain enhances both the precision of the forms and the intensity of the colours.

At the crossroads between functional object and autonomous sculpture, Sybilla perfectly illustrates the exceptional encounter between one of the greatest designers of the 20th century and the centuries-old savoir-faire of the Manufacture de Sèvres, resulting in a work that is at once radical, poetic, and timeless.