The present unique carpet commemorates a special friendship which bloomed on the occasion of the 'Architettura Attenuata' exhibition of Ettore Sottsass' work at Antonia Jannone's gallery in Milan in 2003. For the event, Sottsass sought floral advice from the owner of the present lot, who suggested the foxtail agave, Agave attenuata, which became an integral visual element of the exhibition when it was featured at the gallery entrance and printed on the invitation. On a later visit to the owner's home, Sottsass remarked that his carpet was too small for the room. A few weeks later, the architect returned with a drawing, saying: "This is your carpet". The French artist Nathalie Du Pasquier then selected the wool to match Sottsass' design.
Ettore Sottsass's drawing of the present Unique carpet, 2005.
Drawing: Private archiveProvenance
Gifted directly by the artist to the present owner, 2005
114
Unique carpet
2005
Wool.
306 x 299 x 1.5 cm (120 1/2 x 117 3/4 x 0 5/8 in.)
Produced by Samling Carpet, Kathmandu, Nepal. Together with the manufacturer's fabric label and digital copy of the original drawing signed by Ettore Sottsass, Jr.
Estimate
£8,000 - 12,000 ‡
Sold for £33,020
Antonia King
Head of Sale, Design
+44 20 7901 7944
Antonia.King@phillips.com
Design
London Auction 13 November 2024
