Alberto Giacometti

John Wanamaker’s, New York

Private Collection, acquired from the above at the New York World’s Fair, 1939

Christie’s New York, March 28, 1987, lot 131

Acquired from the above by the present owner

Pierre-Emmanuel Martin-Vivier, Jean-Michel Frank, Paris, 2006, pp. 345 and 356

New York World's Fair, New York, April 30, 1939-October 27, 1940

This lot is offered together with a certificate of authenticity from the Comité Giacometti and is recorded in the Alberto Giacometti database.

Executed circa 1935, the present Coupe Ovale in plaster makes its second appearance at auction after 36 years, making it an exceptional sale event. First exhibited and purchased at the New York World Fair in 1939, it has been in only two private collections since its creation. The Coupe demonstrates Giacometti’s keen interest in ancient African symbols and constitutes one of several plaster works influenced by early Egyptian funerary objects. Giacometti was particularly intrigued by the masterful techniques of the ancient civilization and he endeavored to pare down these forms to their most essential elements in his own works. Through this adaptive method, he achieved a consummate amalgamation of modernity and antiquity.

The turn towards decorative arts was a natural progression for Alberto Giacometti who had previously studied Cubist and Surrealist sculpture under the tutelage of Antoine Bourdelle. As his interest in utilitarian objects grew, Giacometti saw an opportunity to diversify his oeuvre. In 1929, he pursued a new form of creative expression through decorative arts, collaborating and developing a friendship with designer and cabinetmaker Jean-Michel Frank who was an established decorator in Paris at the time. Frank went on to sell many objects produced by the Swiss sculptor, often incorporating them into his own interior design projects. In fact, the model can be seen above in the period photo of Jean-Michel Frank's Smoking Room from rue de Verneuil in Paris in 1938. As a pioneer of modernist sculpture, Giacometti used his proficiency in surrealist sculpture to inform his decorative works, often blending any distinction between the two. Many of these works, which the artist referred to as “mute” and “mobile” objects, were the product of special commissions from patrons who admired his unique craftsmanship. As evidenced through his prolific output, Giacometti viewed his design objects as equal in stature to his works of art.