Gino Sarfatti - Design London Thursday, October 17, 2019 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Commissioned from the designer by Liliana Grassi, Milan, circa 1955

  • Literature

    Lumières: Je pense à vous, exh. cat., Centre national d’art et de culture Georges Pompidou, Paris, 1985, p. 137 for another variant of the model
    Giuliana Gramigna, Repertorio del Design Italiano 1950-1980, vol. 1, Turin, 2003, p. 23 for another variant of the model
    Roberto Sarfatti, Il fascino delle lampade di Gino Sarfatti: sul filo della memoria, Milan, 2011, p. 30 for another variant of the model
    Marco Romanelli and Sandra Severi, Gino Sarfatti: Selected Works 1938-1973, Milan, 2012, pp. 66, 218, 449 for another variant of the model
    Alexander Koch, Neuzeitliche Leuchten der 50er Jahre, Stuttgart, 2012, p. 44 for another variant of the model

  • Catalogue Essay

    The present standard lamp was commissioned by the architect and architectural historian Liliana Grassi, a friend of Gino Sarfatti, for her residence in Milan. This rare version features a black marble base, a variation from the original model, no. 1050, designed in 1951, which has a ribbon-shaped brass base. The design of both versions illustrates the influence of the architect Vittoriano Viganò, an artistic and technical advisor for Arteluce, whom Sarfatti entrusted as artistic director of the company during an extended trip to the United States in the early 1950s. For example, Sarfatti's incorporation of a large articulated brass arm with an aluminium cone-shaped shade — the only light source — serves both practical and aesthetic functions. This adjustable shade can be positioned for direct light or turned towards the large sculptural shade above for indirect light.

  • Artist Biography

    Gino Sarfatti

    Italian • 1912 - 1985

    Rising above the devastation of World War II, post-war Italian design reached new heights of productivity and ingenuity, particularly in the realm of lighting. Gino Sarfatti is among the most celebrated lighting designers from this fruitful period. Before founding his company Arteluce in 1939, Sarfatti studied aeronautical engineering. He brought the inventiveness of a self-taught outsider to the field of lighting design, while his mechanical background lent lightness and ingenuity of construction. Poetic underpinnings are also evident in lamps such as model no. 1034 (sometimes referred to as the "Vine" lamp), which features a nearly 8' twisting brass stem graced with nine delicate, articulating white shades like buds on a flower.

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7

Rare adjustable standard lamp, variant of model no. 1050/1

circa 1955
Painted aluminium, brass, marble.
205 cm (80 3/4 in.) high
Manufactured by Arteluce, Milan, Italy. Interior of lower shade with manufacturer's label printed AL/MILANO/ARTELUCE.

Estimate
£25,000 - 35,000 Ω

Sold for £32,500

Contact Specialist
Antonia King
Interim Head of Sale
+44 20 7901 7944
antonia.king@phillips.com

Design

London Auction 17 October 2019