Ashtray 1922

Curator: Here we have an ashtray created in 1922 by Herman A. Kähler, now residing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is made from ceramic. Editor: Oh, that’s striking! There’s such a crackled, aged effect in the glaze. I’m immediately drawn to the tactile quality—it looks both delicate and incredibly durable, a real sense of the artist working with, and perhaps even against, the material. Curator: Absolutely. Kähler's designs are important as they existed during the period of great change for decorative arts. The placement of such functional ware within a museum asks us to think about its role within social practice. Editor: Exactly! This ashtray is evidence of material culture and labor. Think about the mining of the clay, the shaping and firing. These ceramics existed for popular consumption. Curator: Placing value on the functional also shifts the social dynamic within the museum, too. Decorative arts had a distinct role in cultural creation and also reflected political issues like craft revivals or how manufacturers sought to differentiate from competing global markets. Editor: The cracking might be a byproduct of the rapid cooling process. This "crackle glaze", though maybe accidental, makes me wonder what else we may consider imperfections of the production. Does this raise its artistic and monetary value, I wonder? Curator: It complicates easy categories of ‘fine art’ versus ‘craft.’ It forces the museum visitor to think about function, beauty, labor, and commerce as intertwined, not in silos. It asks people to consider the museum not just as a space for 'high art' but as a space of critical encounter. Editor: Agreed, it's really remarkable to consider these nuances with what seems like a relatively simple, everyday object. I’m left contemplating the life cycle of things and their evolving social meanings through history. Curator: Me too! Thanks to pieces like this ashtray we can think differently about production.