Man Ray

'Les Amoureux' Necklace Brooch

Lot Closed

October 6, 04:47 PM GMT

Estimate

70,000 - 90,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

Property of a Private Collector

Man Ray

1890 - 1976

'Les Amoureux' Necklace Brooch

1975, signed on lower edge of lip Man Ray 75 les Amoureux, edition 8/12, marked inside lower lip MR9 and unreadable maker's marks

18k thin gold cord with detachable pendant with pin on reverse (to be worn as a brooch) on torque; executed by GEM Montebello; sold together with two books: Kelly H. L’Ecuyer, Jewelry by Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2010, and Richard Martin, Fashion and Surrealism, Rizzoli, New York, 1987

Lips: ⅞ by 3½ in.; 2.3 by 9.3 cm.

Overall: 5¾ by 5⅜ by ⅞ in.; 14.6 by 13.7 by 2.2 cm.

Andrew Strauss and Timothy Baum of the Man Ray Expertise Committee have confirmed the authenticity of this work and that the work and its edition is registered in the archives of the Man Ray Expertise Committee.

Louisa Guinness Gallery, London

Acquired from the above by the present owner

Richard Martin, Fashion and Surrealism, Rizzoli, New York, 1987, pp. 84, 85 for similar example illustrated

Kelly L'Ecuyer, Jewelry by Artists: In the Studio, 1940-2000, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2010, pp. 171-183

Manon Lecaplain, Emmanuel Guigon, et al., Picasso y las joyas de artista, Museu Picasso, Barcelona, 2021, p. 132 for similar works

The artful simplicity of Man Ray’s gold Les Amoreaux Necklace Brooch puts it at the top of the list when it comes to his jewelry designs. Executed by his friend GianCarlo Montebello, Les Amoreaux immortalizes Ray’s lover Lee Miller and transposes a small but iconic piece of her spirit and vivacity onto the wearer. Never impractical or obtrusive, Ray’s jewels play with illusion, language, and form, and his passionate relationship with Miller generated sensual and sexually-charged art that flatters and entices.

A similar necklace from the Daphne Farago Collection was donated to the Museum of Fine Art, Boston, on 2017 (MFA 2017.4918), edition 10/12.