Beer Glass with Capsule

Peter Schlumbohm

1961

A two-piece hand-blown glass beer set—an hourglass-shaped carafe and a low, rounded “capsule” cup—designed to serve and drink from with spare, laboratory-like clarity.

At first glance the pair reads as pure, transparent silhouette: very thin walls, a tapered waist on the taller piece and a pill‑like inverted cup that make light and reflections the only ornament.

Made in 1961, it exemplifies midcentury modern design’s turn to functional simplicity and the appropriation of scientific glass forms for domestic objects, helping to popularize minimalist, utilitarian drinkware.

Palette

Art Terms

Design Product design Industrial design Good Design Minimalism Modern art Form

Exhibitions

Glass from the Museum of Modern Art Collection

1955

Good Design: 5th Anniversary

1955

Useful Objects of American Design under $10.00

1939

20th Century Design from the Museum Collection

1958