This coffee service (1988.287.1–.7) embodies the Art Nouveau style in ceramics. The designer chose the fennel plant to literally encase the functional wares, thereby integrating their utilitarian aspects with Art Nouveau's embrace of naturalistic forms. The gray-green enamel of the "fennel" portions was applied to unglazed porcelain, producing a matte texture similar to that of the plant itself, in contrast to the glossy, glazed white areas above.