Designer Zaha Hadid designed the stainless steel 'Zaha' Flatware Set in 2007.
Designer Zaha Hadid designed the stainless steel 'Zaha' Flatware Set in 2007. Sanding Cutlery
In this series, Lagniappe presents a different work each week from the collection of the New Orleans Museum of Art, with commentary from a curator.
Zaha Hadid was recognized as a major force in architecture thanks to dramatically futuristic buildings that transformed public spaces around the world with awe-inspiring curves and sharp angles in concrete, glass and steel.
The first woman to win the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004, Hadid designed buildings to address the biggest ideas in art, urban planning and government.
The same intense, experimental shapes that Hadid used to push the boundaries of buildable architecture take on a playful feel when applied to human-scaled designs like her sneakers, wine bottles, sofas and this flatware set in the New Orleans Museum of Art's collection.
The British-Iraqi architect’s version of forks, spoons and a knife made with German manufacturer WMF adheres to certain Western fine dining conventions — a deep spoon for soup, a dull knife for cutting and a small fork for salad, for instance.
Unlike other traditional cutlery designs, however, the "Zaha" flatware set flows together as a single assembly that seems to prioritize its striking look, perhaps over its utility.
A 2007 New York Times design review noted the pointed spoon is “marvelous for excavating ice cream” but that other aspects of the design make eating an “adventure.”
The work is on view in an installation of objects related to dining culture in Café NOMA.
— Mel Buchanan, RosaMary Curator of Decorative Arts & Design, NOMA
Mel Buchanan is the RosaMary curator of decorative arts and design at the New Orleans Museum of Art.
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