Diego Giacometti

Acquired directly from the artist for Gunter Sachs' apartment on the Avenue Foch, Paris

Leipzig, Museum der Bildenden Künste, Gunter Sachs, 2008, pp. 127 & 133
The model exhibited:
Zürich, Museum Bellerive, Diego Giacometti: Möbel und Objekte aus Bronze, 1986, p. 80, pl. 64, cat. no. 49a
Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, 1986
Paris, Galerie l'Arc en Seine, Le bestiaire de Diego Giacometti, 1997, pp. 34-35 for a lamp & pp. 80-81 for fire-dogs
Milan, Fondazione Antonio Mazzotta, I Giacometti, la valle, il mondo, 2000, p. 39
Paris, Galerie l'Arc en Seine, Diego Giacometti, 2003, p. 89, for a lamp

Michel Butor, Diego Giacometti, Paris, pp. 53, 94 & 98 for lamps
Françoise Francisci, Diego Giacometti, Catalogue de l'oeuvre, Vol. I, Paris, 1986, pp. 40-43
Daniel Marchesseau, Diego Giacometti, Paris, 1986, pp. 60-61, for a comparable table
François Baudot, Diego Giacometti, Paris, 1998, p. 63, for fire-dogs
Gunter Sachs, Mein Leben, Munich, 2005, p. 381

Minor spots of dirt and verdigris to legs, commensurate with age and material. Otherwise excellent condition. Black granite top is a replacement. Accompanying the lot is a top with macassar effect edge which was used when the table was owned by Gunter Sachs. This was a replacement to the marble top that can been seen in the photograph of Gunter Sachs, with the present lot, on the front cover of the day auction. Please note that due to the weight of the marble top we recommend that this table be professionally installed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Diego Giacometti used the 'dompteuse' (literally, 'tamer') model for several items, most commonly as a lamp base, but also as fire-dogs, and most rarely of all, as the feet for this table, which we believe is unique (see Marchesseau, op. cit. p. 211).

Diego collaborated in the 1930s with his brother Alberto on lights and small decorative objects for the designer Jean-Michel Frank, before beginning to sculpt in his own right in the early 1940s, when he produced animal handles for a cabinet and a fantastical sculpture of a bird. The animal and mythical inspiration continued in his furniture, beginning with the horses' heads candlestick he created for Alberto's birthday in 1951 and the 'harpie' table made for Cecil Beaton in 1955. These motifs were reprised again in the 'dompteuses' table, where two pairs of female figures tame the bestiaries that cluster around them.

Gunter Sachs commissioned this table directly from Diego Giacometti for his apartment on the Avenue Foch, Paris.