'Pollo' vase, 'Studio Line'

‘Pollo’ vases resemble a bird or wind-blown stone. In the early 1970s, they retailed at James Smith’s department store for $27. Walter acquired his about 10 years later for 50 cents from dealer friend Neale Auld, who had spotted it at a garage sale.

‘Pollo’ designer Tapio Wirkkala was inspired by nature and sought to emphasise the properties of the materials with which he worked.