Domesticated Egg

Details

Man Ray (1890-1976)
Domesticated Egg
wood and metal rod
Length (base): 8 5/8 in. (21.9 cm.)
Depth: 3 ½ in. (8.9 cm.)
Conceived in 1944; this example executed in 1973

Provenance

Estate of the artist; sale, Sotheby's, London, 23 March 1995, lot 184.
Acquired at the above sale by the late owner.

Literature

Janus, Man Ray, Milan, 1973, p. 30, no. 76 (original version illustrated).
A. Schwarz, Man Ray: The Rigour of Imagination, New York, 1977, p. 369, no. 311 (original version illustrated, p. 178).
J.-H. Martin, intro., Man Ray: Objets de mon affection, Paris, 1983, p. 151, no. 79 (original version illustrated).
C. Barnett, "Man Ray's Juliet," Art & Antiques, October 1988 (illustrated in color on the cover).

Brought to you by

Vanessa Fusco

vfusco@christies.com +1 212 636 2094

Lot Essay

Domesticated Egg is a playful sculpture created out of found objects—the wooden egg, for example, was typically used for darning socks. Man Ray described Domesticated Egg, as “no more improbable than the preserved egg, but admittedly less edible” (quoted in Man Ray, exh. cat., Julien Levy Gallery, New York, 1945).

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