ARMAND ALBERT RATEAU (1882-1938)

A RARE PERFUME BURNER, CIRCA 1925

Details

ARMAND ALBERT RATEAU (1882-1938)
A RARE PERFUME BURNER, CIRCA 1925
alabaster, gilt-bronze
7 ¾ in. (19.8 cm.) high, 7 1/8 in. (18 cm.) diameter
stamped A. A. RATEAU INVR PARIS

Provenance

Galerie Vallois, Paris, 1994.

Literature

Revue L'Oeil, September 1992, Biennale des Antiquaires, illustrated on front cover and p. 70.

Further details

Four kneeling maidens cast in bronze and gilded, naked except for tightly pleated drapes across their legs, support between them in their outstretched hands a broad circular dish. The suggestion is of a votive offering, the image an evocation of some enigmatic ancient mythological ritual. Rateau’s art is never a slavish imitation of antiquity but rather a distillation of the spirit of ancient cultures in his creation of atmospheric and intriguing works of art, luxurious objects to delight the eye and enrich an interior, such as the present perfume burner.

We have been able to trace only two other examples of this rare model at auction: Sotheby's, Monaco, 26 April 1992, lot 215; and Christie's, New York, 7 December 2005, lot 386.

Sale room notice

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

Lot Essay

cf. A. Duncan, AA Rateau, exhibition catalogue, DeLorenzo Gallery, New York, 1990, pp. 50-51;
F. Oliver-Vial, F. Rateau, Armand Albert Rateau, Paris, 1992, p. 216.

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