'Osselet' Floor Lamp, Second Version, designed circa 1936

Details

ALBERTO GIACOMETTI (1901-1966)
'Osselet' Floor Lamp, Second Version, designed circa 1936
patinated bronze, paper shade
74 in. (188 cm) high, 24 in. (60.3 cm) diameter of shade
impressed AG 05

Provenance

James Mason, Lausanne, circa 1965
Clarissa Kaye-Mason, by descent, 1984
Bonhams, London, 10 March 2010, lot 11
Private Collection
Phillips de Pury & Company, London, 27 September 2012, lot 26
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Literature

M. Butor, Diego Giacometti, Paris, 1985, p. 95
C. Boutonnet and R. Ortiz, Diego Giacometti, Paris, 2003, p. 41
P.-E. Martin-Vivier, Jean-Michel Frank, l'étrange luxe du rien, Paris, 2006, p. 347
V. Weisinger, The Studio of Alberto Giacometti: Collection of the Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti, Paris, 2007, p. 409, no. 278
P.-E. Martin-Vivier, Jean-Michel Frank, The Strange and Subtle Luxury of the Parisian Haute-Monde in the Art Deco Period, New York, 2008, p. 257

Further Details

This lot is registered under number AGD 1677 in the Alberto Giacometti Database.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Michael Jefferson International Senior Specialist, Senior Vice President

mjefferson@christies.com +1 312-608-9023

Lot Essay

In 1965, the English actor James Neville Mason, known for his roles in The Seventh Veil (1945), The Wicked Lady (1945) and The Odd Man Out (1947), acquired the present two Alberto Giacometti ‘Osselet’ floor lamps offered in this sale (lots 29 and 30). After Mason’s death in 1984, the lamps remained with his widow, Clarissa Kaye-Mason, at their house in Lausanne, Switzerland. The lamps present with a closely matched patina and can be considered a pair with a rich history together.

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