Pair of "Tooth" Planters by Willy Guhl

A rare pair of planters designed by Swiss designer Willy Guhl in the 1950s, made of natural fiber cement. This is the "Eternit AG/Elo, 1954" edition, featuring an abstract triangular shape reminiscent of a tooth. Willy Guhl is one of the historical designers who contributed to the international renown of Swiss design. He is a leading figure in neo-functionalism. Born to a carpenter father, he trained as a cabinetmaker at the Zurich School of Applied Arts (Kunstgewerbeschule Zurich), where he also taught from 1941, becoming head of the interior design department ten years later. In the late 1940s, he conducted pioneering research in the field of plastic furniture. He then developed a knowledge of molding techniques which allowed him to reveal himself by transposing them onto a new material: Eternit, also called fiber cement, which he was one of the first to use in Europe.