Rosenthal - TAC

Rosenthal TAC / Design: Walter Gropius

One of the cult classics of Rosenthal studio-line is the "TAC 1" tea service by Walter Gropius (1883 - 1969). The dishes by the visionary architect and founder of the Bauhaus were premiered in 1969, two years after the father of the International Style had signed a contract for his first project in porcelain. Rosenthal was already a client of the architect’s Boston office, The Architects’ Collaborative (TAC) at the time. It had planned the modern porcelain factory in Selb, Germany with Gropius’s collaboration. Many drawings crossed the Atlantic. Once introduced, the "TAC 1" tea service quickly became the studio-line model with the legendary success. Not only was it created by teamwork according to Bauhaus tradition but also its reduced formal idiom, with the plain hemisphere for the teapot and cup and the play with triangles and squares, suggests the Bauhaus style to this day. Moreover, the material, which is highest quality, light, transparent porcelain, contributes to make this classic service give an unparalleled, timeless, poetic impression. This mastery of design was no coincidence. The dean of architecture had applied his knowledge of the complex porcelain manufacturing process, newly acquired through building the Rosenthal factory, to optimum effect.

TAC 02 - The Complete Classic

The "TAC 1" tea service has been in the program since 1969. As a cult object of design history it has entered many collections all over the world. Its success has encouraged the Creative Center of the Rosenthal studio-line to realize the full extent of the original idea of Philip Rosenthal and Walter Gropius: "TAC 02", a complete dinner, coffee and tea service. This too represents the preservation of the classics in Rosenthal’s sense. Besides hitherto unpublished original designs, "TAC 02" includes new forms that carry forward the spirit of Gropius – a premiere in that they were created in coordination with the Bauhaus Foundation in Dessau. They feature plain elegance and poetic purism as far as materials and perfect functionalism are concerned. To complete the service, the Rosenthal Creative Center has designed an ideally matched collection of especially fine, plain crystal glasses in modern shapes.

TAC 02 - The Dinner Service

When Rosenthal launched "TAC 1" by Walter Gropius on the market in 1969, his designs had also included a series of dishes for the coffee table that was completely independent in form but never produced. Also on file for product development were drawings for a dinner service in the formal idiom of the successful tea set. They now provide the source for the current "TAC 02" program. Thus, decades after his death, Walter Gropius’s bowls are now being serialized, their covers in analogy to the legendary teapot with the striking hook-shaped handle on the side. Gropius builds on simple geometric forms. True to his principles, the circle and the globe remain the form-giving elements for the unadorned plates and bowls now available for serving a complete menu. Unmistakable Gropius design is also exhibited by the new coffeepot: it shape follows the body of the teapot down to the last detail but extends upwards with a sure sense of style.

"TAC 02" is the result of close collaboration between Rosenthal studio-line and the Bauhaus Foundation in Dessau. Professional cooperation makes it possible for this expanded program truly to do justice to the great design talent the founder of the Bauhaus, Walter Gropius.