The article offers information on American artist Michael Graves' artwork titled "Tea and Coffee Service." It is a prototype for a tea service which was one of eleven such services designed as part of a research program started in 1979 by Alessi, an Italian company known for its mass-produced chromium, steel and brass hardware. A number of international architects, including Charles Jencks, Richard Meier, and Aldo Rossi, were asked to design limited edition tea and coffee services utilizing conventional handicraft processes but materials other than those commonly used in mass production. Graves' work is similar to an architectural model which epitomizes his own Postmodernist approach to design. Materials used by Graves in his work include bakelite, mock ivory and blue lacquered aluminum.