A rare design by Alberto Giacometti will head to auction next month.  

Giacometti conceived the enormous bronze chandelier, titled Lustre avec femme, homme et oiseau (Chandelier with woman, man and bird), in 1949 and cast it in 1952.

The original plaster mould was created for Swiss dealer Louis Broder.  

This chandelier is one of three made from the original plaster cast 

Only three casts were ever made. They were only available to Giacometti’s close friends.

Alberto’s brother Diego is well known for his stunning bronze-cast tables, candelabras and chairs. But Alberto tended to stick to fine art, making this a rare departure from his usual work.

The piece is valued at £6m-8m ($8.4m-11.2m).

However, Alberto’s sculptural work typically sells for hundreds of millions of dollars. The rarity of this piece could see it exceed its top estimate early in the bidding.

Thomas Bompard, head of impressionist and modern art evening sales at Sotheby’s London, said: “This beautiful chandelier by Alberto Giacometti is the tangible coming together of visual arts, decoration and theatre.

“Despite a natural tendency for introversion, Giacometti became a figurehead of existentialism – finding his place at the centre of the avant-garde scene of artists and intellectuals in Paris.

“He was sought after by patrons, dealers and fellow artists, collaborating with the likes of modernist playwright Samuel Beckett to capture the fragile but powerful beauty of what hadn’t been destroyed by the Second World War.

“This is much more than a chandelier: it is a beacon of universal symbolism, of hope and humanism.”

Please sign up to our free newsletter to receive exciting news about art and photography auctions.