MB&F and L'Epée - The New York Watch Auction: SEVEN New York Saturday, December 10, 2022 | Phillips

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  • Manufacturer: MB&F and L'Epée
    Year: 2020
    Case No: 36’963
    Model Name: MB&F X L’Epée X Massena LAB T-Rex Bronze
    Material: Sandblasted bronze alloy body with chemical oxidation effect, dial made of hand-blown Murano glass
    Calibre: Key-wound, cal. 1855, 17 jewels
    Dimensions: 265mm height x 258mm width x 178mm length; weight approximately 2 kilograms or 4.4 pounds
    Signed: Sculpture signed MB&F, L’Epée 1839, and Massena LAB. Movement signed L’Epée 1839.
    Accessories: Accompanied by blank L’Epée warranty card, instruction manual, winding key, gloves, cloth, and fitted travel case.

  • Catalogue Essay

    What could you create if you were to free your mind from any restrictions and lean completely into your own creative vision? Probably something like this T-Rex Bronze sculpture, the result of a delightful three-way creative collaboration between MB&F, L’Epée 1839, and Massena LAB. Rendered in an exquisitely textured bronze alloy, the sandblasted finish allows for an organic feel, and it is treated with a chemical oxidation process to seal in the bronze patination. Reduced to only his legs and eye, the T-Rex is something between a Tyrannosaurus Rex, a Cyclops and Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc. The eye is made of emerald green, hand-blown Murano glass with delicate bronze alloy hands following the curve of the eyeball in order to tell the time. The legs are highly true to reality, as if they could start ambulating if you were to wind the movement in the proper location.

    To quote the original designer of the T-Rex sculpture, Massimilian Maertens, the creature comes with his own origin story: “The story takes off from ideas given to me by past projects of MB&F, that we have a pilot in his starship discovering new planets. Eventually he got so far out in space that the only way back to Earth was via a black hole, but it time-warped him back to the time of dinosaurs and the starship was fused with a hatching dinosaur egg. You see the remnants of the starship in the body of the clock and the movement, the dinosaur appears via the legs, and even the black hole remains part of the design, via the dial that sinks inwards towards the centre where time originates.”

    The potent concoction of L’Epée and MB&F is already a compelling mélange. Add in a dash of Massena LAB, and it becomes utterly irresistible. Offered as a limited edition of only 15 pieces, it is consigned now in brand new condition with all of its original accessories. The bronze T-Rex horological sculpture is a striking accompaniment for the home office. Perched atop a shelf, he awaits his moment to leap into action.

81

A brand new, whimsical, and creative limited edition bronze alloy and Murano glass sculpture with eight-day movement, in the form of a T-Rex, created in partnership with Massena LAB

2020
265mm height x 258mm width x 178mm length; weight approximately 2 kilograms or 4.4 pounds
Sculpture signed MB&F, L’Epée 1839, and Massena LAB. Movement signed L’Epée 1839.

Estimate
$10,000 - 20,000 
CHF9,500-19,000
€9,700-19,300
HK$78,300-157,000
S$13,800-27,500

Sold for $11,970

Contact Specialist

Paul Boutros

Head of Watches, Americas

+1 (212) 940-1293

WatchesNY@Phillips.com

 

Isabella Proia

Head of Sale, New York

+1 (212) 940 1285

iproia@phillips.com

 

The New York Watch Auction: SEVEN

New York Auction 10 - 11 December 2022