Iittala’s Ruutu Vases Honored by Cooper Hewitt

Iittala’s Ruutu vases have been added to the National Design Museum Permanent Collection at the Cooper Hewitt. Updating the museum’s holding of Scandinavian and contemporary glass, Ruutu joined previously selected Iittala glassware by Tapio Wirkkala in this curated collection. 

Iittala’s first collaboration with Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Ruutu is a series of 10 vases in five sizes and seven colors. Meaning diamond in Finnish, Ruutu is created from mouth-blown glass in Iittala’s Finland factory. Each vase takes seven craftsman 24 hours to produce. Precise execution of a well-conceived design made Ruutu a natural fit for a museum devoted to advancing the public understanding of design and human creativity both past and present. 

Located in New York, the Cooper Hewitt is one of 19 museums that fall under the wing of the Smithsonian Institution and is the only museum in the United States devoted to historical and contemporary design. The Permanent Collection consists of more than 200,000 objects representing contemporary and historical design in four curatorial departments – Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design; Product Design and Decorative Arts; Textiles; and Wallcoverings. 

What started as a glass factory in Iittala, Finland in 1881, today celebrates generations of essential objects including cutlery, glassware, tabletop, cookware and serving pieces along with decorative items. Iittala believes objects should be distinctive, combinable and multi-functional, with lasting design that inspires individual use and expression. As a company based in Finland, where quality, aesthetics and functionality are important values, Iittala believes in interior design that lasts a lifetime.