Very well rounded off

Helen von Boch, Federigo Fabbrini: La Boule Stackable Tableware, 1971

“The sphere with hidden qualities!” With this claim, the Villeroy & Boch company advertised its new stackable tableware shaped like a sphere. Stackable tableware had already been around for a long time. It is very practical because it is easy to store and does not take up a lot of space in cupboards. Since the beginning of the 20th century, there were many small flats in the big cities and therefore there was a demand for space-saving and modern everyday tableware. 

This sphere-shaped tableware consists of 19 parts. Four flat plates, four soup plates and four dessert plates are complemented by three serving platters, two bowls and one lidded dish.

It is made of stoneware, which is cheaper to produce than porcelain, but also more fragile and a little heavier. The individual parts had to be worked very precisely so that they could be assembled in the shape of a sphere.