Silver Cream Pitcher c. 1937

Curator: Here we have a fascinating pencil drawing by Hans Westendorff, dating back to around 1937. It's titled "Silver Cream Pitcher." What strikes you about it initially? Editor: Its quietness, definitely. The muted tones and delicate lines give it a hushed, almost reverent feel. It feels like a whispered ode to functionality. There is a sense of fragility even for something that is made out of silver! Curator: Exactly. Westendorff, though not as widely celebrated as some of his Bauhaus contemporaries, was deeply embedded in that world. We need to understand design in interwar Germany in relation to debates around craft versus mass production. Silverware—both designing and manufacturing it—had a role in the larger ideological debates within modernism itself. Editor: The geometric base anchoring the pitcher, the subtle curve of the handle…it's like a love letter to modernism's ideals of clean lines and functionality. The little embellishments, are they some sort of monogram, just keeps me wondering who it's for. Curator: I interpret it as a play between austerity and ornamentation, something quite common during that period. Despite its seemingly simple form, the sketch actually tells a complex story about artistic and political tensions. Notice, it is a silver object presented via drawing. Editor: Thinking about that story of silver, its industrialization in Germany, its luxury. And yes, I feel all the tension looking at this pencil sketch for something meant to be rendered in a material like silver. There's almost something melancholic here. It’s a ghost of luxury, no? Curator: Precisely. It captures a moment in time where artists and designers were grappling with what “modern” really meant and how it could serve society. Its deceptive simplicity actually hides the economic questions concerning who would access it. Editor: Absolutely. What starts as a humble sketch evolves into a portal to understand history. Curator: Indeed. There is always so much to think about from that quiet space you so perfectly put it, thanks.