1960s Mid-Century Modern Brass Lotus Flower Ashtray / Catchall

Details

Description

You just have to love the sheer functionality and cleverness of mid-century design objects—this is a spectacular vintage 1960s solid … Read more You just have to love the sheer functionality and cleverness of mid-century design objects—this is a spectacular vintage 1960s solid brass lotus flower personal ashtray set, and it is a complete, intact find that I just had to grab for the Turtle and Crane collection. This sculptural botanical piece features a heavy central stamen and stem frame that holds six individual, removable petals. Each petal lifts right out of the cluster to function as a standalone personal dish or a chic cocktail party catchall, then slots right back in to form a tight, closed lotus blossom.
When you look at the heavy brass and that dramatic botanical silhouette, it immediately channels the lavish, over-the-top glamour of legendary designers like Tony Duquette and Dorothy Draper. This is the exact kind of whimsical, high-style metalwork that Billy Baldwin and Billy Haines used to layer into their ultra-exclusive Hollywood interiors to break up clean lines and add instant texture. The patina on this piece is absolutely gorgeous—it has a beautiful, authentic vintage character with honest oxidation and light tarnish in the crevices that highlights the rich texture and veining stamped into the leaves. The underbelly of the main stem still retains its original, vintage "Made in Korea" paper label alongside its embossed production numbers, locking in its mid-century provenance.
Whether you smoke or not, these sets are highly prized by decorators as pure tabletop sculpture. This is the ultimate high-impact accent small to add some historical soul and metallic warmth to a layered Grandmillennial coffee table display, a chic Chinoiserie vanity setup, or a punchy maximalist bar cart vignette. It hits that perfect note of Palm Beach Regency glamour mixed with clever, atomic-era utility. See less