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Lot Essay
Knuckle-Duster is among a small group of unique hand-held sculptures made by Gaudier-Brzeska in 1914, which he circulated among the Vorticist group. All were made to be handled, played with and used, not just to be looked at, and have a tactile quality particular to them. Jonathan Wood refers to them as 'some of Gaudier's most Vorticist works' (J. Wood, op. cit., p. 42), and 'these objects were designed to be manipulated and turned around in the hand, a gesture that in turn closely replicated those employed by Gaudier himself in making them' (loc. cit., p. 46). They include the present work (also referred to as Médaille), Doorknocker, Torpedo Fish, Brass Toy, Toothbrush, Charm and Duck.
Jonathan Wood discusses the distinct qualities of this group: 'evocative of force as well as touch, all were carved directly into stone or brass, a highly unusual carving material which immediately drew attention to the manual, sculptural difficulties entailed in their making. Indeed, their implicit technical achievement alone gave them a special trophy-like status. Gaudier had cut right through metal to make them: many have pierced forms (a fact Gaudier himself was keen to detail as 'perfore' or 'perforated', in his list of works). Gaudier, according to Pound, had 'an apparently inexhaustible manual activity': he would carve into whatever he could get his hands on. ... Their subjects, their obscure iconographies and forms, their geometric/organic abstract designs, their ambiguous categorisation as objects, sculptures and/or ornaments, the deliberately ambivalent and obfuscatory manner in which they could function and were titled, and the circumstances under which they were made, displayed and 'performed' relate them to one another as a complex and highly informative group of works' (loc. cit., pp. 42-43).
Gaudier-Brzeska gifted Knuckle-Duster to his friend, the poet and critic T.E. Hulme (1883-1917). Hulme was a great champion of Gaudier, Jacob Epstein and David Bomberg, and was a contributor to BLAST. It was a fitting gift to Hulme, as he held a particular interest in Georges Sorel's work on violence, as well as having a reputation as both a fighter and womaniser. According to Kate Lechmere, the painter who had a three year relationship with Hulme before he was killed in 1917 in West Flanders, the knuckle-duster held a specific sexual connotation for him. He 'used to take his Médaille out of his pocket ... and play with it whist in conversation' (loc. cit., p. 47).
Hulme's writings on the new geometric art of Vorticism, and on the function of ornament, clearly impacted Gaudier when making these sculptures. Wood writes about these hand-held sculptures, 'As the creator of them, Gaudier succeeded in patenting a special role and membership for himself within this avant-garde group. How could any Frith Street Vorticist live without one?' (ibid.).
Jonathan Wood discusses the distinct qualities of this group: 'evocative of force as well as touch, all were carved directly into stone or brass, a highly unusual carving material which immediately drew attention to the manual, sculptural difficulties entailed in their making. Indeed, their implicit technical achievement alone gave them a special trophy-like status. Gaudier had cut right through metal to make them: many have pierced forms (a fact Gaudier himself was keen to detail as 'perfore' or 'perforated', in his list of works). Gaudier, according to Pound, had 'an apparently inexhaustible manual activity': he would carve into whatever he could get his hands on. ... Their subjects, their obscure iconographies and forms, their geometric/organic abstract designs, their ambiguous categorisation as objects, sculptures and/or ornaments, the deliberately ambivalent and obfuscatory manner in which they could function and were titled, and the circumstances under which they were made, displayed and 'performed' relate them to one another as a complex and highly informative group of works' (loc. cit., pp. 42-43).
Gaudier-Brzeska gifted Knuckle-Duster to his friend, the poet and critic T.E. Hulme (1883-1917). Hulme was a great champion of Gaudier, Jacob Epstein and David Bomberg, and was a contributor to BLAST. It was a fitting gift to Hulme, as he held a particular interest in Georges Sorel's work on violence, as well as having a reputation as both a fighter and womaniser. According to Kate Lechmere, the painter who had a three year relationship with Hulme before he was killed in 1917 in West Flanders, the knuckle-duster held a specific sexual connotation for him. He 'used to take his Médaille out of his pocket ... and play with it whist in conversation' (loc. cit., p. 47).
Hulme's writings on the new geometric art of Vorticism, and on the function of ornament, clearly impacted Gaudier when making these sculptures. Wood writes about these hand-held sculptures, 'As the creator of them, Gaudier succeeded in patenting a special role and membership for himself within this avant-garde group. How could any Frith Street Vorticist live without one?' (ibid.).