Sculpture archivos | Setdart Subastas

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Written by Andrea Domenech

12 April 2024

Iconic design pieces

Iconic pieces of design:

Setdart, in its upcoming design auction scheduled for April 17, promises to showcase an exquisite variety of pieces by renowned designers from different corners of the world. From the Nordic countries to France, Germany, England, the United States, Italy or Spain, this auction is bound to captivate design enthusiasts with its diverse offerings.

Arne Jacobsen, Charles & Ray Eames and Verner Panton among others

The Scandinavian design movement, celebrated worldwide for its timeless elegance and functionality, will be one of the protagonists. Icons of this tradition, such as Arne Jacobsen, Charles and Ray Eames, Verner Panton and Eero Saarinen, will be represented with their avant-garde models. Scandinavian design, characterized by simplicity, honesty and craftsmanship, resonates with fans and collectors around the world for its understated elegance and focus on essential elements, devoid of unnecessary ornamentation.

Among the auction highlights is Arne Jacobsen’s iconic ‘Swan Chair’, a special edition created for Fritz Hansen’s 50th anniversary. This exclusive piece with a hand-polished cast bronze swivel base has a fully upholstered ergonomic seat, chocolate brown leather interior and chocolate brown suede exterior, details that accentuate its elegance.

Another outstanding piece is the “Grasshopper” Chaise Longue, Model FK-87, designed in 1967 by Preben Fabricius and Jørgen Kastholm. This sleek design embodies the essence of Scandinavian style with its clean lines and unparalleled comfort.

From France comes Charlotte Perriand’s ‘Banquette’, designed between 1959 and 1967. This piece, part of a series created for the executives and staff of the mining company “Miferma” in Mauritania, shows Perriand’s innovative approach to functional furniture design.

Lot 35301986. Charlotte Perriand. This lot is exhibited at Setdart Barcelona.

Naming more French designs, the fun ‘Ribbon’ Chair by Pierre Paulin for Artifort adds a touch of whimsy to any space and is one of the prized pieces, for example, in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. Likewise, this iconic piece that had its stellar place on the small screen as part of the Star Trek props. Specifically, it first appeared in the episode “The Cloud Minders”, where this chair is used to indicate the high status of the more affluent and influential class.

Moving on to avant-garde Italian designs, we present the ‘Elda’ Armchair by Joe Colombo. The version offered in our auction is a beautifully restored first edition in vibrant green velvet. This iconic piece, synonymous with space-age aesthetics, made its big screen debut in the James Bond film “The Spy Who Loved Me” (1977) and is famous for its retro-futuristic design inspired by fiberglass boat hulls. Colombo’s innovative use of materials and ergonomic design make the Elda Armchair both visually striking and exceptionally comfortable.

James Bond "The Spy Who Loved Me" (1977)

Designer furniture from the second half of the 20th century is a hit at international auctions because it is distinguished by its creativity and originality. Designers of this era challenged established conventions and experimented with shapes, materials and manufacturing techniques. Its iconic pieces have become symbols of modern design and are highly valued for their beauty and functionality.

These are pieces that reflect the social, economic and technological changes of the time. These pieces capture the aesthetics and spirit of their time, from the post-war era of optimism and innovation to the experimentation and activism of the 1960s and 1970s. As a result, these pieces have intrinsic value as historical objects that tell the story of the world in which they were created.

Another important factor contributing to its success is its exclusivity and rarity. Many of these pieces were produced in limited quantities or even as one-off prototypes, making them highly sought after by collectors and design enthusiasts. The fact that they are difficult to find increases their value on the auction market, where buyers are willing to pay high prices for the opportunity to own a unique and significant object.

In short, the success of designer furniture from the second half of the 20th century at international auctions is due to its aesthetic innovation, its historical and cultural relevance, and its exclusivity and rarity. These pieces are not only objects of beauty and functionality, but also tangible testimonials to the creativity and vision of the designers who created them, making them valuable investments, cherished for generations to come.

External references to Roman urns

Prado Museum

Wikipedia

Recommendations, Sculpture, Setdart

Arne Jacobsen, Charles EAMES, Design, italian design, nordic design

Regular Post

Written by Andrea Domenech

10 April 2024

Le Grand Tour: The fascination of the traveler

Le Grand Tour: The traveller's fascination

Setdart is inviting bidders for an interesting collection of bronzes from the collections of travellers who toured the main European capitals in the 19th century. More than fifty lots will be on offer to satisfy our explorer’s cravings.

If you had been an aristocrat in the 18th or 19th centuries, you could have completed your education with a period of travel (between eight months and eight years) on the European continent. At the age of 21, accompanied by a tutor, and with Italy as a key destination, we would have learned about politics, culture and, of course, art.

On our way through France we would have gone straight to Paris, where we would have received French, horseback riding or fencing lessons, rubbing shoulders with the sophisticated Parisian society, which would have helped us greatly in refining our manners and showing off our new skills back home.

It goes without saying that in Rome we would have been victims of a Stendhal syndrome and, once recovered, we would have fallen into the irrepressible desire to acquire for our collections bronze models of all the marble wonders that had taken our breath away during our visit to the Italian peninsula. These superb pieces are the fruit of a fascination for Greco-Roman art and, with the desire to possess a piece of Western history, bronze artists put all their skill into emulating the sculpture of the past, the zenith of artistic creation.

Among the pieces to be auctioned in this auction, there are some that are directly derived from archaeological models of Greco-Roman antiquity, such as the lot of 35253998which represents the Venus CalypigiaThe original was unearthed in Herculaneum in the 18th century and now rests in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. Another good example of these reproductions can be found in the lot 35254024this time with Diana Hunterwhose original model comes from a Greek bronze from the 4th century B.C. The pairs of busts, such as that of Diana and Apollo, were also very well received by collectors, sometimes in versions of larger and well-known pieces, such as the Apollo of Belvedere in a smaller format, which we can well see in the lot 35254004.

But the bronze artists of the 19th century did not live by sculpture alone, as the decorative arts were also providers of highly successful models. One of the most fruitful was the Warwick Tumbler, represented in our auction by lots 35254014 and 35254011.

Thanks to this type of pieces, the most distinguished travelers were able to take with them true works of art created by the best artists of the time, a souvenir of their unforgettable stay, a sort of “souvenir” of their stay. memories that, more than a century later, have an entity of their own, as they tell us about experiences that shaped the thinking of the European elites of the 18th and 19th centuries and that, today, can be acquired by any of us to continue writing their own history in contemporary collections.

External references to Roman urns

Prado Museum

Wikipedia

Recommendations, Sculpture, Setdart

bronze, sculpture

Regular Post

Written by Andrea Domenech

13 March 2024

Roaring Twenties: Art Nouveau and Art Deco Private Collection

Setdart presents an important private collection focused on the first third of the 20th century. It is unusual to tender extensive collections dedicated to such specific periods in the history of art. In this case, within this beginning of the century, we find painting, sculpture, ceramics and glass of the most relevant European manufactures.

News, Sculpture, Setdart

Art Deco, Art Nouveau

Regular Post

Written by Andrea Domenech

13 March 2024

Roaring Twenties: Art Nouveau and Art Deco Private Collection

On March 18th, 19th and 20th, Setdart presents an important private collection focused on the first third of the 20th century. It is unusual to tender extensive collections dedicated to such specific periods in the history of art. In this case, within this beginning of the century, we find painting, sculpture, ceramics and glass of the most relevant European manufactures.

Divided into three blocks, with more than five hundred lots in total, this collection allows us to go through the artistic trends that took place at the beginning of the last century, years of remarkable stylistic changes that brought back techniques and materials of the past, with glass as the main protagonist.

In painting, the figure of Celso Lagar stands out, with an oil on cardboard and three drawings on paper, as well as an oil on canvas attributed to Eugenio Lucas Velázquez. The Salamanca-born artist’s work is a view of a port, a recurring theme in his production and one that is well received by collectors, with auctions in the last ten years usually ranging between 3,000 and 9,000 euros.

As for the Goyaesque Eugenio Lucas, a regular at Spanish auctions, his oil paintings on canvas usually fetch between 2,000 and 4,000 euros, although it is not uncommon to see extraordinary increases of five times the aforementioned estimates.

In the second block, leaving painting behind, we focus on sculpture and ceramics. A very extensive selection of almost two hundred lots, with key figures of the catalan art nouveau such as Lambert Escaler or Josep Clarà; German Deco, represented by Adolf Jahn Stettin or by Max Hermann Fritz, among others; from neighboring France, to mention a few of the artists, we have the iconic pelicans of Max le Verrier or the masks Art Nouveau by Albert Carrier “Belleuse”. We could go on like this almost without interruption, as famous manufactures and names follow one after the other in this auction without giving us a break.

However, it is appropriate to dedicate a small section to two artists who, we believe, deserve this recognition. The first one needs no introduction, as he is well known in the art market: Mariano Benlliure. On this occasion, two of the Valencian artist’s works stand out above the rest, and for what reason? These are two unpublished sketches for monuments to Henri de Lacaze-Duthiers and Pedro Alonso, the first in Banyuls-sur-Mer, France, and the second in Noreña, Asturias. This cataloguing has been possible thanks to the help of Mrs. Lucrecia Enseñat Benlliure, whom we thank again for her collaboration.

Finally, we would like to talk about a work that may give us a surprise. This is lot 35309511, blued bronze rooster by Charles Artur, stamped by the Valsuani Foundry. The Frenchman’s work is very well positioned in the art market, with auctions ranging from 3,000 to 30,000 euros. Is it possible that the Setdart tender will be a surprise? We will find out on March 19.

The last block, on March 20, is the one that concentrates more lots, two hundred and twelve, this time focused exclusively on glass. France, Italy and Spain are the countries that have a greater representation, the first being the one that developed a larger and more varied glass industry in this first third of the century. Some paradigmatic examples of the sample are: lot 35315232, vase with winter scenes by Daum; this is one of the leitmotifs of the Nancy factory, which usually fetch good auctions in the market, around two thousand euros. Lalique, another regular in the glass auctions, there are several pieces tendered, although we highlight the lot 35315219, Coq nain, a car mascot, pieces with a very specific chronology, as they lived a major boom from 1920 until the early 1930s, when they ceased to be fashionable.

Finally, and returning to the Catalan area, where the glass had the greatest development of the Iberian Peninsula, it is worth mentioning Josep Maria Gol and Xavier Nogués & Ricard Crespo, both represented at the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya and now also in Setdart. From the former is the lot 35309789, a selection of six cups characteristic of his style, with a dense enamel on a colorless background; from the latter, a delicate piece, lot 35309657, from the series of borratxetsThe work, a recurring theme in the Catalan binomial in an excellent state of preservation, could well find a home in Catalan museums.

There are many pieces that we have left out, but it is impossible to mention all the relevant ones without going into too much detail, so we recommend taking a look at the entire catalog and take the opportunity to get hold of some of the extraordinary pieces tendered by Setdart on March 18, 19 and 20.

External references to Roman urns

Prado Museum

Wikipedia

Recommendations, Sculpture, Setdart

Art Deco, Art Nouveau

Regular Post

Written by Andrea Domenech

5 March 2024

The eternal smile, buddas collection

The eternal smile,

buddhas collection

The intricate history of Buddhist sculpture in Southeast Asia unfolds like a fascinating tapestry dating back to the 6th century. During that period, a cultural transformation known as the Indian cultural sphere took deep root, giving rise to a splendid religious art in service of Theravada Buddhism. uddhist kingdoms rose, some flourishing majestically for centuries, while others succumbed to the invasion of more powerful neighbors.

Representations of Buddha in Thailand, Burma, Laos, and Cambodia stand out as true gems, celebrated worldwide for their exquisite craftsmanship. These images not only capture the essence of Theravada Buddhism but also possess distinctive features and styles that intertwine and enrich each other over time. Although some reflect specific ethnic characteristics, all were meticulously created under strict iconographic canons, formulas, and diagrams, in accordance with the revered practices of this Buddhist lineage.

This artistic journey becomes a window to a past where the creation of Buddha icons in temples stands as a fervent quest for the highest spiritual power Seeking to emulate an original prototype that, according to belief, was shaped during Buddha’s lifetime, artists of the time dedicated their talents to perfecting the artistic development of these icons, turning it into the ultimate expression of their skills.

Thus, amidst the shadows of history, these canonical images of Buddha emerge, known not only for their magical impact but also for being venerated as acts of merit, whether installed in majestic temples or lingering in the obscurity of history. In addition to these imposing representations, a large number of small statues made of bronze, silver, stone, wood, and terracotta were generated, stored in the mysterious storerooms of the temples.

In this artistic enigma, statues of Buddha, adorned with modest monk robes and devoid of ornaments, embody the renunciation of worldly desires. The continuity of this visual convention not only symbolizes the renunciation of earthly luxuries but also serves as a perennial reminder that Buddha, in his renunciation as a crown prince, abandoned worldly pleasures for a life of wisdom and compassion.

These representations transcend art to reveal the serene and peaceful essence of Theravada Buddhism, offering viewers a portal to timeless spirituality rooted in the lands of Southeast Asia, free from any desire and with an eternal smile.