ARMAND ALBERT RATEAU (1882-1938)

AN IMPORTANT 'FENNECS' TABLE LAMP, CIRCA 1919-1920

Details

ARMAND ALBERT RATEAU (1882-1938)
AN IMPORTANT 'FENNECS' TABLE LAMP, CIRCA 1919-1920
alabaster, patinated bronze
17 7/8 in. (45.5 cm.) high, 10 1/8 in. (25.8 cm.) diameter of base
stamped A. A. RATEAU INVR

Provenance

Armand Albert Rateau;
Thence by Descent;
Ader Tajan, Paris, Collection d'un Amateur, 19 December 1994, lot H (sale from the artist's estate);
Acquired by the present owner from the above.

Exhibited

Paris, Exposition des Arts Décoratifs, Le Pavillion de l'Élégance, 1925.

Further details

This deceptively simple design, faultless in its proportions, well illustrates Rateau’s distinctive skill at conceiving elegant, modern artefacts that distill echoes of ancient cultures. Rateau has created a form in alabaster that serves as a subtle, warming filter for the internal light source – a most effective solution to the issue of mastering electric light. This attenuated ovoid is inspired by pre-dynastic Egyptian stone jars, enigmatic vessels that archaeology has revealed as frequently destined to accompany the deceased in the afterlife. This reference to ancient Egypt is underscored in the choice of ‘Fennecs’ or desert foxes to create the supporting bronze base. Such creatures were deified as Anubis, the god who protected the body after death.

The present example of this rare model is exceptional for its condition – original and complete in every detail, including the fluted finial centring the base. A variant of this concept, with the vessel standing on a platform base and held in place by upright, serpent-like scrolls, is documented in period photographs of the bathroom-boudoir created by Rateau for the Duchess of Alba. A pair of these lamps can be seen in a contemporary photograph of Rateau’s dining room, quai de Conti, while another pair featured in the collection of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé (Christie’s, Paris, Collection Yves Saint Laurent et Pierre Bergé, Vol. IV, 24 February 2009, lots 332-333).

Sale room notice

Please note that Christie’s has a direct financial interest in this lot.

Lot Essay

cf. Journal illustré des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes, Exposition Internationale 1925, 1 July 1925, for this model illustrated in the booth of couturière Jenny at the Pavillon de l’Elégance, 1925 International Exhibition, Paris;
A. Flament, Le Pavillon de l'Elégance, La Renaissance de l'Art Français et des Industries de Luxe, 1925, pp. 309-310;
D. Klein, M. Bishop, Decorative Art 1880-1980, 1986, p. 169;
Exhibition catalogue, 1930: Quand le Meuble Devient Sculpture, Le Louvre des Antiquaires, Paris, 1986 - for a pair of the same design;
D. Klein, N. McClelland, L'Esprit Art Deco, 1987, p. 96;
A. Duncan, A A Rateau, exhibition catalogue, Delorenzo Gallery, New York, 1990, p. 33;
F. Oliver-Vial, F. Rateau, Armand Albert Rateau, Paris, 1992, pp. 11, 177, and 187 for a view of a pair of lamps of this model displayed in Rateau's dining room on 17, quai de Conti, Paris;
Exhibition catalogue, Armand Albert Rateau – Jeanne Lanvin, Galerie Vallois, Paris, Biennale des Antiquaires, 2004, for another example of this model;
H. Guéné, Décoration et Haute Couture – Armand Albert Rateau pour Jeanne Lanvin, un autre Art Déco, Paris, 2006, pp. 108, 207 and 208 for a lamp of this model exhibited in the booth of couturière Jenny at the Pavillon de l’Elégance, 1925 International Exhibition, Paris.

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