Provenance
Maître Pierre-Marie Rogeon, Expert Jean-Pierre Camard, Drouot, Paris, "Art nouveau: meubles et objets d'art par J. M. Frank & Chanaux," November 4, 1980, lot 66
Pierre et Geneviève Hebey, Paris
Camard & Associés, Paris, "Objets d'art, sculptures, tableaux modernes: provenant de la collection de Pierre et Geneviève Hebey," March 27, 2012, lot 24
Galerie L’Arc en Seine, Paris, 2012
Acquired from the above by the present owner, 2012
Literature
Waldemar George, "Jean-Michel Frank," Art et Décoration, no. 3, 1936, p. 98
Michel Butor, Diego Giacometti, Paris, 1985, p. 130
Diego Giacometti, Möbel und Objekte aus Bronze, exh. cat., Museum Bellrive, 1988, Zurich, p. 31, no. 9
Léopold Diego Sanchez, Jean-Michel Frank, Adolphe Chanaux, Paris, 1997, p. 239 for an example in gold
Pierre-Emmanuel Martin-Vivier, Jean-Michel Frank: The Strange and Subtle Luxury of the Parisian Haute-Monde in the Art Deco Period, New York, 2006, p. 323
Catalogue Essay
The present lot is registered by the Fondation Alberto and Annette Giacometti in the online Alberto Giacometti Database (AGD) under the number AGD 1984.

The present lot is one of a small handful of “L’Ecossaise” plaster table lamps executed in the 1930s by Alberto Giacometti, including a dark tinted example, formerly in the collection of Elsa Schiaparelli, which sold November 24, 2015 at Sotheby’s, Paris. As of the publication of this catalogue, the present lot is the only example to appear in the Alberto Giacometti Database.

Traditionally, sculpture is realized by means of two principal techniques: carving from a hard material such as stone or wood and modelling in clay or wax. From the 1930s Alberto Giacometti, known primarily as a modelling sculptor, produced a variety of different sculptural objects, which still today are regarded as noteworthy contributions to the development of Surrealist sculpture. Exploring themes derived from Freudian psychoanalysis, like sexuality, obsession and trauma, two major areas of interests can be distinguished within the iconic œuvre of the Swiss-born artist: the investigation into the nature of the human figure—with a recurring motif embodied by the head; the manufacture of utilitarian art objects—to which this present lot significantly belongs.

At the height of the Art Deco style, the early 1930s were a period in which there was a natural overlap between fine and decorative art. The financial crisis that struck Paris as elsewhere, had a substantial impact on artistic production and sculpture became a more difficult venture. Giacometti, with the assistance of his brother Diego, began to design a series of vases, wall lamps, table lamps, firedogs, mural bas-reliefs and other interior objects, the majority of which were sold by the avant-garde interior decorator Jean-Michel Frank.

It is believed that Alberto Giacometti and Jean-Michel Frank were first introduced in 1928 by their mutual friend Man Ray during one of the regular Surrealist gatherings at the Salon Des Indépendants. Undeniably Frank was one of the first, along with Leiris, Bataille, and Rivière, as well as Jeanne Bucher, to discover the sculptor’s talents in the decorative arts and to recognize the potential for commercial and artistic impact. The two men, who became very close friends and frequently met to discuss and exchange opinions with the likes of Paul Rodocanachi, Salvador Dalí, Christian Bérard, Emilio Terry, Louis Argon and Marie-Laure de Noailles, had a reciprocal influence upon each other’s work and shared amongst themselves the goal of removing the superfluous in order to concentrate on the essential. Between 1932 and 1940 Giacometti was commissioned to produce seventy designs for objects, including seventeen lamps, eleven floor lamps, thirteen vases, and ten wall lights, as well as small accessories such as table runners, bowls, consoles, andirons and chimneys that the Paris decorator integrated into his now iconic interior compositions. Giacometti also created hardware, such as pinecone finials, drawer handles and doorknobs, putting his talent in the service of even the smallest details. His work became indispensable to Frank and his clients while also attracting a larger audience. Soon many of the most fashionable shops in Paris were offering his creations.

These decorative and commercial endeavors met with some dismay from his Surrealist contemporaries. To defend his position, Giacometti claimed “the fact that I made decorative objects to earn my living for the best interior decorator of the time, Jean-Michel Frank (whom I liked very much), seemed to others like a step down. Nevertheless I tried to make a vase, for instance, as well as possible, and then I realized that I worked on a vase exactly as I would work on a sculpture and that there was absolutely no difference between what I called a sculpture and what was just a vase.” (Alberto Giacometti quoted in M. Peppiant, “In Giacometti’s studio”, 2010, p.71). Indeed Giacometti created sculptures of intense mystery during this period—many of which are considered some of the most complex and enigmatic works to have been produced by the Surrealist circle.

The story becomes more nuanced if one includes the artist’s original plasters. For an artist such as Giacometti, who already had rejected certain more traditional modes of sculpture such as stone carving, plaster was a significant material decision that was well-received by the decorator Frank who was well known for his preference for white interiors. As the art dealer Pierre Matisse recalled, “[Frank] liked things in white and in plaster…Diego, who helped Alberto make the lamps, mounted them on metal to give them the necessary rigidity.”

But plaster wasn’t merely an intermediate stage between clay model and the final form. It enabled Giacometti to paint and manipulate the shape of his objects in multiple ways. As seen in the present lot, traces of scrapings, scratches, and gouge marks are left intact. In fact these aspects must be considered as the actual “sculpting” of the object in question, and it is with this further reworking that Giacometti bestows upon this plaster cast his unique touch. The worked plasters are different from Giacometti’s bronzes in several aspects, not least in their fragility and their peculiar play of light and shadow. Through the combination of modelling and sculpting, they reveal the many layers of Giacometti’s concept with greater immediacy.

Property from a Private Collection

421

Alberto Giacometti

Rare "Ecossaise" table lamp

circa 1935
Painted plaster, paper shade.
Base only: 20 1/2 in. (52.1 cm) high, including shade: 32 in. (81.3 cm) high, 18 in. (45.7 cm) diameter
Together with a certificate of authenticity from the Comité Giacometti.

Estimate
$100,000 - 150,000

Sold for $193,750

Contact Specialist
Cordelia Lembo
Specialist, Head of Sale
+1 212 940 1265

Design Evening Sale

New York Auction 13 December 2016

401
Carlo Scarpa
Rare ceiling light, model no. 5283
Estimate $25,000 - 30,000
Sold for $37,500
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
402
Gio Ponti
Prototype teapot
Estimate $10,000 - 15,000
Sold for $70,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
403
Gio Ponti
Unique tiered coffee table
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
Sold for $60,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
404
Lucie Rie
Flaring footed bowl
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
Sold for $212,500
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
405
Gino Sarfatti
Early ceiling light, model no. S 00106
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
Sold for $175,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
406
Jean Royère
Pair of "Ours Polaire" armchairs
Estimate $300,000 - 400,000
Sold for $370,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
407
Jean Royère
"Ours Polaire" sofa
Estimate $300,000 - 400,000
Sold for $358,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
408
Diego Giacometti
“Guéridon-arbre au hibou”
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $370,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
409
Georges Jouve
Table lamp
Estimate $20,000 - 30,000
Sold for $37,500
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
410
Isamu Noguchi
Prototype chair, for William A.M. Burden, Northeast Harbor, Maine
Estimate $200,000 - 300,000
Sold for $225,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
411
Charlotte Perriand
Rare low table
Estimate $50,000 - 70,000
Sold for $125,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
412
Serge Mouille
Three-armed floor lamp, for the Compagnie Des Arts Français
Estimate $70,000 - 90,000
Sold for $106,250
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
413
Poul Kjærholm
Rare daybed, model no. PK 80A
Estimate $150,000 - 200,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
414
Harry Bertoia
Sunburst sculpture
Estimate $25,000 - 35,000
Sold for $68,750
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
415
George Nakashima
Rare coffee table with special early variant Minguren base
Estimate $150,000 - 200,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
416
Lucie Rie
Unique footed bowl
Estimate $60,000 - 90,000
Sold for $200,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
417
Eugène Printz
Adjustable three-part bibliothèque
Estimate $30,000 - 40,000
Sold for $81,250
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
418
Eugène Printz
Desk
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $212,500
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
419
René Lalique
"Serpent" vase, Marcilhac no. 896
Estimate $30,000 - 50,000
Sold for $37,500
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
420
Kaare Klint and Edvard Kindt-Larsen
Pair of "Mix" easy chairs, model no. 4396
Estimate $70,000 - 90,000
Sold for $87,500
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
421
Alberto Giacometti
Rare "Ecossaise" table lamp
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $193,750
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
422
Robert Mallet-Stevens
Pair of armchairs from the apartment building at 7, rue Méchain, Paris
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $121,250
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
423
Jean Royère
Armchair designed for the Salon de repos du Pavillon de la céramique, L'Exposition Internationale, Paris
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
424
Carlo Mollino
Unique pair of lounge chairs, from the living room of the Ada and Cesare Minola House, Turin
Estimate $200,000 - 300,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
425
Carlo Mollino
Unique "specchio-armadio" and adjustable wall light, from the bedroom of the Ada and Cesare Minola House, Turin
Estimate $250,000 - 300,000
Sold for $298,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
426
Shiro Kuramata
Rare side chair, from the Livina Yamagiwa showroom, Tokyo
Estimate $15,000 - 20,000
Sold for $68,750
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
427
Gio Ponti
Rare side table
Estimate $120,000 - 180,000
Sold for $150,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
428
Eileen Gray
Unique "Brick" screen
Estimate $400,000 - 600,000
Sold for $478,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
429
Marcel Coard
Important drinks cabinet
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $87,500
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
430
Diego Giacometti
Two “Tabourets en X," troisième version
Estimate $150,000 - 200,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
431
Eugène Printz and Jean Dunand
Important sideboard
Estimate $400,000 - 500,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
432
Alberto Giacometti
"Feuille" floor lamp
Estimate $140,000 - 160,000
Sold for $175,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
433
Jean-Michel Frank
Important pair of side chairs, from the Jean-Pierre Guerlain apartment, Paris
Estimate $20,000 - 30,000
Sold for $47,500
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
434
Gio Ponti
Chest of drawers, designed for Nordiska Kompaniet
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $112,500
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
435
Gio Ponti
"Wall dashboard," designed for Nordiska Kompaniet
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
436
Gio Ponti
"Bedside dashboard," designed for Nordiska Kompaniet
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
437
Karl Hansen Reistrup and Herman August Kähler
Unique vase
Estimate $10,000 - 15,000
Sold for $12,500
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
438
Jean Royère
Rare wingback armchair
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $250,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
439
Jean Royère
“Ski” floor lamp
Estimate $20,000 - 30,000
Sold for $118,750
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
440
Pierre Jeanneret
Cabinet, from the Henri Ingber Residence, Paris
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $237,500
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
441
Jean Royère
"Yo-yo" coffee table
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $175,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
442
Roberto Gabetti and Aimaro Isola
Rare pair of side chairs, from the Stock Exchange building, Turin
Estimate $30,000 - 50,000
Sold for $30,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
443
Isamu Noguchi
"Rudder" dinette table, model IN-20
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
444
Josef Hoffmann
Set of four stools
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
Sold for $56,250
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
445
Marcel Coard
Chest of drawers
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
446
Theodor Bogler
Important teapot
Estimate $15,000 - 20,000
Sold for $21,250
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
447
Gio Ponti
Rare and early pair of wall lights, from Palazzo Montecatini, Milan
Estimate $18,000 - 22,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.

Design Evening Sale

New York Auction 13 December 2016

Create your first list.

Provenance

Literature

Catalogue Essay

421

Alberto Giacometti

Rare "Ecossaise" table lamp

Design Evening Sale

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.

Create your first list.