Michael Eden’s 3D Printed Urns and Vases Inspired by European Antiques

Michael Eden 3d printed urns and vases

The first question out of most people’s slack-jawed mouths upon seeing these for the first time is “what are they made of?” When told they’re made of sintered nylon using various 3D software programs and the latest 3D printing technology, they are blown away. So were we. Maker Michael Eden’s contemporary versions of classic porcelain and ceramic European antiques are as innovative as they are attractive.

3D Printed Urns and Vases

michael eden vases
After Le Lorrain I (left) and After Saly II (right), 2018
After Le Lorrain I (detail), 2018 michael eden
After Le Lorrain I (detail), 2018

Inspired by Jacques Saly* and the pieces from porcelain manufacturers Sevres, Wedgewood and Staffordshire among others, artist Michael Eden’s vases and urns are a modern take on classic antique objets d’art that utilize the latest three dimensional manufacturing technologies.

Michael eden elephant vases
A Pair of Elephant Vases, 2018
3D printed vases
Vermiculé I and II, 2018

The contemporary pieces are painstakingly created through a series of drawings, then virtual modeling using various types of 3D software and finally the pieces are manufactured from a high quality nylon material with a soft mineral coating. The piece is then hand-finished and in some cases, applied with 24k gold leaf.

3d printed cailloute vases
A Pair of Caillouté Vases, 2018
3D printed sculptures
Rococo II, Rococo I and Icons, 2018
3D printed vases by Michael Eden
Acanthus, Ship Vase and After Le Lorrain II, 2018
3d printed urns
Trio of urns from his Wedgewood’nt series

Many of the pieces here are from the artist’s 2018 solo exhibition, Form and Transform, at the UK’s Waddesdon Manor. Here he was inspired by the exuberance of the Saly creations and made use of the 3D scans of a number of Sèvres ceramics that were made for him of pieces from the Waddesdon Manor collection. The form of the vases were drawn by hand using 3D CAD software, which enables 2D line drawings to be translated into 3 dimensional structures.

Romanesco I and II, michael eden
Romanesco I and II, 2017
3d printed urns and vases
After Piranesi, 2018
Michael eden 3d printed vases
Dido Monstrance, 2018
3D printing
Coccolith Vase, 2018
michael eden vases
Nautilus II, 2018

The drawing process requires numerous iterations before the artist is happy with the final version. After the intense and time consuming design development, the data is then checked with special software to ensure compatibility so that the object can be successfully 3D printed. The software sliced the data into thousands of 0.08mm layers and then slowly builds each layer of material (in most cases, nylon) until the piece is complete. It is then hand finished and coated.

incredible 3D printed objets d'art
Putti Cuvette, 2018, in varying sizes and finishes
michael eden vase
Ship Vase, 2018

About the artist (from his website):
Michael Eden is a maker whose work sits at the intersection of craft, design and art, exploring contemporary themes through the redesign of historical, culturally familiar objects utilising digital manufacturing and materials. An MPhil research project at the Royal College of Art allowed him to explore how his interest in digital technology could be developed and combined with the craft skills that he had acquired during his previous experience as a potter.

Artist Michael Eden
Michael Eden

Through this he investigates the relationship between hand and digital tools. He is particularly interested in how the tacit knowledge and sensibility to the 3 dimensional object, developed through extended ceramic practice can affect and influence the approach to the creation of objects using digital technology.

As a member of a unique generation that has bridged the digital divide, he firmly believes that he is able to contrast and compare life before and after the invention of the personal computer. For Eden it is a matter of choice, as life at the beginning of the 21st century has furnished makers with a wider choice of tools, materials and processes with which to realise ideas and concepts. All have their place, the new does not replace the old; the key is to make appropriate use of them.

Michael Eden is Represented by Adrian Sassoon. Please contact the gallery to discuss his works for sale and exhibition opportunities.

*Jacques Saly was an 18th century French sculptor who drew a series of ornamental vases (vases inventés), which he later engraved and bound in a single volume.

images courtesy of Michael Eden’s website, his Instagram feed and Adrian Sassoon.