{"product_id":"ed-langbein-melon-bowls","title":"Ed Langbein Melon Bowls","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAt first glance, they could be mistaken for the real thing — halved cantaloupes set out on the table, textured to mimic the raised, netted skin of the fruit. It’s only on closer look that the trick reveals itself: these are ceramic, designed by American industrial designer Ed E. Langbein and manufactured in Italy , part of his celebrated fruit-and-vegetable collections from the mid-20th century.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eItalian ceramicists have long delighted in this kind of visual play: lemons, artichokes, cabbages, and melons rendered so faithfully in clay that they blur the line between still life and tableware. Stacked together on a table, these bowls do exactly that: a small piece of Italian summer, ready to serve fruit, nuts, or nothing at all.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLangbein made a career of this kind of visual sleight of hand. Working out of his company, Edward E. Langbein Giftware in Brooklyn , he designed and hand-painted tableware manufactured in Italy from the 1930s through the 1950s , and his whimsical, trompe l’oeil pieces — cantaloupes, watermelons, potatoes, asparagus, coconuts — earned him a place among the era’s design elite. His work was featured in seven Museum of Modern Art exhibitions  and in the 1957 Brooklyn Museum exhibit “Table Settings: The Old With The New,” alongside Russel Wright, Raymond Loewy, and Eva Zeisel .\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThey're a small, playful piece of American design history, now finding their way back onto tables that appreciate a bit of wit with their craftsmanship.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSold in sets of four, two sets are available. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSourced in Sudbury, Massachusetts.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions: 6''D, 2.25''H\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ALEKKA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44349689757795,"sku":null,"price":495.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0298\/5701\/files\/EdwardLangbeinMelonBowls.heic?v=1783816023","url":"https:\/\/www.alekka.com\/products\/ed-langbein-melon-bowls","provider":"ALEKKA","version":"1.0","type":"link"}