It was on one of these evenings that my mama got a hostess gift to end all gifts - a ceramic ashtray by Sascha Brastoff. It was shaped like a UFO. No, it was shaped like an igloo. I had never seen anything so cool.
It totally stood out from the sea of teak and Naugahyde that was our living room. My mama never really appreciated the ashtray or the bubble-filled Murano lamp it sat next to. That’s why she gave them to me as a present for my first house. And, that’s what got me started on my Brastoff and Murano lamp collecting.
Sascha Brastoff was hugely famous for his ceramic works. He had a very successful studio in Los Angeles in the 1950s, and was supplier to the stars in all matters ceramic. Check out the well written book by Steve Conti if you want more info on the late great Sascha B, as he signed his pieces.
You want my take on his pieces? He is just now being rediscovered. His art pieces can be had for a song, still. Check out the current eBay listings. And in this Crate & Barrel / Design Within Reach world, Sascha is infinitely more affordable, more chic, and certainly more of an investment steeped with California heyday - Hollywood Regency lore.
My mama’s ashtray? I still have it - are you kidding? It’s priceless to me.
Sascha Brastoff pieces are part of the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as several other museums around the U.S.
Enjoy!
Doug at Swank
