Ettore Sottsass, 1973
Object
The Shiva vase, designed by Ettore Sottsass in 1973, is a symbolic object that marks the transition from the Radical Design movement of the 1970s to the postmodern tendencies that followed.
Produced by BD Barcelona Design, then a young and avant-garde company, the vase takes the form of a pink glazed ceramic lingam, evoking both Hindu spirituality and an erotic imaginary.
Sottsass conceived it during an intense period of his life, inspired by his travels in India and a love affair in Barcelona. The Shiva vase embodies his belief that design should speak to sensuality and emotional meaning, moving beyond pure functionality.
In continuous production since its creation, the vase has also been reissued in limited editions, including a gold version and a blue one made in collaboration with Capsule Global. Today, the Shiva vase is part of major museum collections and is considered a key work for understanding Sottsass’s contribution to contemporary design.
Project and Inspiration
The Shiva vase emerged during a period of profound personal and creative transformation for Ettore Sottsass. In the early 1970s, the designer spent extended periods in Barcelona, drawn by a relationship with the Catalan artist Eulàlia Grau.
This emotionally charged context is reflected in the vase’s sensual and symbolic form. It is also the result of an earlier experience: during his travels in India in the 1960s, Sottsass had visited temples dedicated to the god Shiva, where the lingam, a symbol of cosmic creation and regeneration, left a lasting impression on him.
The vase reinterprets these influences in a compact, luminous ceramic object. Its form likely emerged through Sottsass’s usual method: quick, incisive sketches in which essential geometry and organic symbolism blend with ease.
Produced by BD Ediciones de Diseño, the Shiva vase belongs to Sottsass’s exploration of small architectures: totemic, intimate objects that dissolve the boundaries between art, design, and personal memory.
The Shiva Vase: Cultural Significance
Since its debut in 1973, the Shiva vase has become one of Ettore Sottsass’s most iconic works and a lasting symbol of postmodern design.
Continuously produced by BD Barcelona Design, it has entered the collections of major international museums such as MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and is often cited in design history as a key example of Radical Design’s engagement with symbolism, sensuality, and provocation.
Its unmistakable phallic form, positioned between irony, spirituality, and architecture, helped it evolve from a simple functional object into a collectible object.
Limited-edition reissues, such as the gold version from 2005 and the blue version created with Capsule Global in 2021, have reinforced its relevance with a younger audience.
The vase has inspired both critical and popular attention, appearing in academic essays and design magazines alike, and remains a frequent highlight in retrospectives dedicated to Sottsass’s work.
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Details
BD Barcelona Design
The original version of Shiva Vase is available on Mohd >
Width: 7 cm
Depth: 17 cm
Height: 23 cm
Ceramic
