James Mason's Giacometti lights up London

Two lamps produced and designed collaboratively by Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti and his younger brother Diego, and a table designed by Diego Giacometti, will be sold at Bonhams on March 10.

The artefacts were owned by the late English actor James Mason (1909-1984), and will feature as part of Bonhams' Post War and Contemporary Art and Design sale.


Two lamps by Alberto and Diego
Giacometti, estimated at �25k-30k
each

The lamps, both entitled Lampdaire Noued, are believed to have been designed by Alberto between 1935 and 1937, and translated into bronze by Diego.

The brothers were commissioned by the French interior designer Jean-Michel Frank to produce a range of decorative objects for his gallery in 1932, having been introduced to Frank by the American Dadaist artist Man Ray three years earlier.

They designed around 20 lights in total, and continued to work with Frank until the outbreak of the Second World War. The lamps have attracted a pre-sale estimate of �25,000-35,000 each.

After the war Alberto largely abandoned his furniture work, leaving it to Diego.

An example of Diego's continued excellence in furniture design is included in this sale: a Table Torsade, cast circa 1965, estimated at �50,000-70,000.

Earlier this month, Alberto Giacometti's sculpture, L'Homme qui Marche I (The Man who Walks or just Walking Man), sold for a World Record $65m at Sotheby's.

English actor and Hollywood star James Mason starred in films such as North By Northwest, Lolita and The Trials of Oscar Wilde. Today, he is widely regarded as one of the finest actors of the 20th century.

Mason is believed to have been given the works by a friend.

Further highlights at Bonhams will include Marc Quinn's Heliotrop Morphology, 1997 (estimated at �10,000-15,000); Gilbert and George's Houndsditch Knight (�30,000-50,000), Banksy's Lenin on Rollerblades, 2003 (�15,000-20,000) and David Hockney's Richard Neville Naked (�10,000-15,000).

 

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