Organic modern tableware was an important element of any American home concerned with good design in the mid-twentieth century. Zeisel designed the elegantly sculptural Museum Dinner Service in consultation with Castleton China and MoMA, which promoted it as "the first translucent china dinnerware, modern in shape, to be produced in the United States."

Gallery label from

How Should We Live? Propositions for the Modern Interior, 2016-2017.

Manufacturer Manufactured byCastleton China Co., New Castle, PA
Medium Glazed porcelain
Dimensions .1 (large square salad bowl): 3 x 13 x 13" (7.6 x 33 x 33 cm) .2 (platter): 2 x 13 x 11 5/8" (5.1 x 33 x 29.5 cm) .3 (small square salad bowl): 2 1/2 x 9 3/8 x 9 3/8" (6.4 x 23.8 x 23.8 cm) .4 (open vegetable dish): 2 1/4 x 9 1/8 x 8 1/4" (5.7 x 23.2 x 21 cm) .5 (hot water pot): 8 3/4 x 6 x 4 1/4" (22.2 x 15.2 x 10.8 cm) .6 (buffet platter): h. 1 1/4" (3.2 cm), diam. 13 1/8" (33.3 cm) .8 (open sugar bowl): h. 2" (5.1 cm), diam. 4 3/4" (12.1 cm) .9 (covered vegetable dish - overall): h. 5 1/2" (14 cm), diam. 9 7/8" (25.1 cm) .9a (cover): h. 2 1/4" (5.7 cm), diam. 9 7/8" (25.1 cm) .9b (dish): h. 4" (10.2 cm), diam. 9 7/8" (25.1 cm) .10-.11 (open vegetable dishes): 3 x 11 x 9 5/8" (7.6 x 27.9 x 24.4 cm) .12a (bouillon cup) 2 x 6 1/2" x 4 1/2" (5.1 x 16.5 x 11.4 cm) .12b (saucer): h. 1" (2.5) , diam. 6 5/8" (16.8 cm) .13-.15 (creamers): h. 5 1/2" (14 cm), diam. 2 3/4" (7 cm) .16-.19 (dessert or salad plates): h. 1" (2.5 cm), diam. 8 3/8" (21.3 cm) .20-.23 (square salad plates): 1 x 8 1/8 x 8 1/8" (2.5 x 20.6 x 20.6 cm) .24-.27 (luncheon plates): h. 1" (2.5 cm), diam. 9 1/8" (23.2 cm) .29-.32 (dinner plates): h. 1 1/8" (2.9 cm), diam. 10 1/2" (26.7 cm) .33-.35 (soup bowls): h. 2 1/4" (5.7 cm), diam. 7 7/8" (20 cm) .36-.39 (bread and butter plates): h. 1" (2.5 cm), diam. 6 1/8" (15.6 cm) .40-.43 (cereal bowls): h. 2 5/8"(6.7 cm), diam. 5 1/2" (14 cm) .44a-.47a (cream soup): h. 2" (5.1 cm), diam. 4 3/4" (12.1 cm) .44b-.47b (stands): h. 1" (2.5 cm), diam. 7 1/2" (19.1 cm) .48a - .51a (tea cups): 2 x 5 3/8 x 4 1/2" (5.1 x 13.7 x 11.4 cm) .48b - .51b (saucers): h. 1" (2.5 cm), diam. 6 5/8" (16.8 cm) .52a-.55a (after dinner cups): 2 x 3 1/2 x 2 3/4" (5.1 x 8.9 x 8.9 cm) .52b-.55b (after dinner saucers): h. 3/4" (1.9 cm), diam. 5 1/4" (13.3 cm) .56a (sauce boat): h. 3 1/4" (8.3 cm), diam. 7 1/2" (19.1 cm) .56b (ladle): 6 1/2 x 2 1/4 x 2 1/2" (16.5 x 5.7 x 6.4 cm) .57 (creamer): 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 3 1/2" (11.4 x 11.4 x 8.9 cm) .58 (creamer): 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 3 3/4" (11.4 x 11.4 x 9.5 cm) .59 (coffee pot - overall): 10 x 7 1/4 x 4 1/2" (25.4 x 18.4 x 11.4 cm) .59a (pot): 9 1/4 x 7 1/4 x 4 1/2 (23.5 x 18.4 x 11.4 cm) .59b (lid): h. 1" (2.5 cm), diam. 1 5/8" (4.1 cm) .60-.61 (covered sugar bowls - overall): h. 3" (7.6 cm), diam. 4 3/4" (12.1 cm) .60a - .61a (bowls): h. 2 1/2" (6.4 cm), diam. 4 3/4" (12.1 cm) .60b - .61b (covers): h. 1 3/8" (3.5 cm), diam. 4" (10.2 cm) .62-.63 (salt cellars): h. 1 1/2" (3.8 cm), diam. 1 3/4" (4.4 cm)
Credit Gift of the manufacturer
Object number 205.1947.1-63
Department Architecture & Design

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