WORKS BY ALBERTO AND DIEGO GIACOMETTI REVEALED AS PART OF ACTOR JAMES MASON’S COLLECTION AT BONHAMS

GIO PONTI, BANKSY, HOCKNEY AND QUINN ALSO IN SALE

 

Two lamps produced and designed collaboratively by Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti and his younger brother Diego, and a table designed by Diego Giacometti, which were owned by the late English actor James Mason (1909-1984) since the late 1960s, are being offered at Bonhams, New Bond Street as part of its Post War and Contemporary Art and Design sale on March 10^th 2010 at 1pm.

 

The lamps (lot 11 and 12, both entitled Lampdaire Noued) are believed to have been designed by Alberto between 1935 and 1937, and translated into bronze by Diego. The brothers were commissioned by the French interior designer Jean-Michel Frank to produce a range of decorative objects for his gallery in 1932, having been introduced to Frank by American artist Man Ray three years earlier. They designed around twenty lights in total, and continued to work with Frank until the outbreak of the Second World War. The lamps have attracted a pre-sale estimate of £25,000 - 35,000 each.

 

After the war Alberto largely abandoned his furniture work, leaving it to Diego. An example of Diego’s continued excellence in furniture design is included in this sale: Table Torsade, cast circa 1965, and estimated at £50,000 – 70,000.

 

English actor and Hollywood star, James Mason, starred in films such as North By Northwest, Lolita and The Trials of Oscar Wilde, and is widely regarded as one of the finest actors of the 20^th century. He is believed to have been given the works by a friend.

 

An unrecorded fruitwood and vellum cabinet by one of the most important Italian architectsand designers of the 20^th century, Gio Ponti, thought to have been made in 1941, is another exceptional lot in the sale and has an estimate of £12,000 - 18,000.

Further highlights include Marc Quinn’s Heliotrop Morphology, 1997 (estimate £10,000 – 15,000); Gilbert and George’s Houndsditch Knight (estimate £30,000 – 50,000), Banksy’sLenin on Rollerblades, 2003 (estimate £15,000 – 20,000) and David Hockney’s Richard Neville Naked (estimate £10,000 – 15,000).

Bonhams

Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son and Neale UK. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street, and Knightsbridge, and a further five throughout the UK. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Boston in the USA; and France, Monaco, Hong Kong and Dubai. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 57 specialist areas. By the end of 2009, Bonhams had become UK market leaders in ten key specialist collecting areas. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, go to www.bonhams.com