Chess set

Details

MAN RAY (1890-1976)
Chess set
32 pieces in red and gold anodized aluminium, 1947, the two kings stamped with the initial 'R' on the finial, from an edition of no more than fifty, probably manufactured by Accro Products, California, each with the original black felted bottoms, within a fitted stained beechwood box (not original)
King 48 mm.; Pawn 32 mm.
Box 370 x 190 x 95 mm.

Provenance

Christie's, Paris, 30 November 2006, lot 336 (€14,400).
Acquired from the above by the present owner.

Special Notice

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Lot Essay

Man Ray embarked on the design of a new version of his chess set in 1944 when he was invited by Julien Levy to participate in the exhibition The Imagery of Chess, along with Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp, Yves Tanguy and Alexander Calder. Six sets in wood were made, followed in 1947 by a set in aluminium. Each piece was machined or turned individually and although an inventory from the period states that fifty sets were intended, it is possible, given the scarcity of these sets, that the artist may have produced them in smaller numbers to order.

Andrew Strauss and Timothy Baum of the Man Ray Expertise Committee have confirmed the authenticity of this work and that it will be included in the catalogue raisonné of the Objects and Sculptures of Man Ray, currently in preparation.

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