Property from an Important Private Collection
Max Ernst
Soleil (Sun) — 1460
Lot Closed
October 6, 05:37 PM GMT
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
Property from an Important Private Collection
Max Ernst
1891 - 1976
Soleil (Sun) — 1460
conceived 1959, this example cast after 1988*, signed, stamped with Atelier Hugo reference number 2254 / 1460, edition 2/2, exemplaire d'artiste (artist's proof); stamped with François Hugo goldsmith's mark and assay mark on reverse at bottom
23k gold pendant in original wooden case, labeled by hand: Or 23 carats. 923 millièmes_ Poids 92.5g. Exemplaire
No. E.A. 2/2; Poinçon 1es titre du Bureau de la Garantie de Marseille Pièce No. 2254/1450 portant la signature de Max
Ernst, et le Poinçon de Maître de François Hugo. Fait dans ses atelier d'Aix en Provence en 1979.
4¼ by 4⅜ in.; 10.7 by 11.2 cm.
± 91.32 g.
Acquired by descent from the artist to the present owner
Graham Hughes, Modern Jewelry: An International Survey: 1890-1963, Studio Books, London, 1963, pp. 202-203
Clare Siaud and Pierre Hugo, Bijoux d'artistes, Artist's Jewels, Hommage à François Hugo, Les Cyprès, Aix-en-Provence, 2001, p. 100 for another example
Similar edition exhibited in London, Victoria & Albert Museum, International Exhibition of Modern Jewellery 1890-1961, 1961
This arresting little pendant, named by Ernst Soleil (Sun), can be interpreted as loosely as the name suggests. Ernst, who created the techniques of frottage (rubbing) and grattage (scratching) for his Plastiline works to add abstract texture, designed this piece with deep ridges like the raysmof the sun, though they could easily be interpreted as hair. His primitive-seeming goldwork aligns with the Abstract Expressionist movement that he helped to head, but also the avant-garde artworks being created by his peers that looked to differently-developed cultures for inspiration.