Inspired by the traditional dress of a Sámi woman, the 'Savoy' vase is an iconic example of Scandinavian modern design. The vase was designed by Aalto, one of Finland's most revered designers and architects, and his wife Aino, for a collection of objects submitted for inclusion in the Swedish Pavilion for the 1937 Exposition Universelle in Paris.

Initial prototypes were made by blowing molten glass into an arrangement of wooden sticks impaled into the ground, producing the vase's characteristic swells.