Sculpture by Design: Rateau | Giacometti | Les Lalanne

Sculpture by Design: Rateau | Giacometti | Les Lalanne

View full screen - View 1 of Lot 329. "L'Oiseau" Console.

Property from an Important French Collection

Diego Giacometti

"L'Oiseau" Console

Auction Closed

December 8, 04:49 PM GMT

Estimate

1,000,000 - 1,500,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

Property from an Important French Collection

Diego Giacometti

"L'Oiseau" Console


circa 1970

patinated bronze, slate

31½ x 49⅞ x 15⅛ in. (80 x 126.5 x 38.3 cm)

Private Collection, Switzerland, commissioned directly from the artist, circa 1970
Thence by descent
Henri Samuel, Paris
Christie's London, March 1, 2017, lot 437
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Michel Butor, Diego Giacometti, Paris, 1985, p. 68
Françoise Francisci, Diego Giacometti, Catalogue de l’oeuvre, vol. I, Paris, 1986, p. 89
Daniel Marchesseau, Diego Giacometti, Paris, 1986, pp. 94-95 (for a related model)
Christian Boutonnet and Rafael Ortiz, Diego Giacometti, Paris, 2003, p. 25

The present “Oiseau” Console constitutes a superb illustration of Diego Giacometti’s mastery over both his craft and his medium of choice, bronze. Superbly proportioned, the console features a small bird facing a coupelle towards which he appears to be approaching, exemplifying the designer’s keen ability to capture both naturalistic motifs and narrative tension in his work. The beauty of the piece resides in its handsome composition and the harmonious coexistence of superb figurative elements immortalized in bronze. Giacometti enhanced the dynamism and texture of the scene with a beautifully nuanced patina, which is further complemented by a rich and tactile dark slate top. 


The console once belonged to Henri Samuel, the legendary decorator who befriended Giacometti in Paris in the late 1960s. The two men worked together on numerous occasions and Giacometti often supplied the tastemaker with furniture pieces for some of his most eminent commissions. Samuel designed spaces for an international and sophisticated clientele, including Doris Duke, Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, Rothschilds, the Vanderbilts, Susan and John Gutfreund, Jayne Wrightsman and the couturier Valentino Garavani, providing Giacometti’s creations with exceptional exposure. Samuel himself owned some of the designer’s most iconic forms, including a “Caryatides” Table as well as expressive consoles such as the present one. Indeed, a related version of the presented model, recently presented at auction, originated from the collection of Hubert de Givenchy.