ARMAND ALBERT RATEAU (1882-1938)

A PAIR OF 'PALMES' TORCHÈRES, CIRCA 1934-1937

Closed19 December 2013

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ARMAND ALBERT RATEAU (1882-1938)
A PAIR OF 'PALMES' TORCHÈRES, CIRCA 1934-1937
lost wax cast by Valsuani, patinated bronze, with alabaster shades of recent manufacture
each 66¾ in. (169.5 cm.) high
the base of each torchère stamped A.A. Rateau Modèle Déposé Paris and cire C. Valsuani Perdue Bronze (2)

Rateau originally created the 'palmes' design for his townhouse, on quai de Conti, Paris, acquired in 1930, and renovated over a two-year period. Rateau's own version, fitted with a spherical metal shade, is probably a unique example, and was sold at Christie's, Paris, 31 May 2012, lot 26 alongside other works from the Rateau estate.

The present examples are distinguished by the presence of stamps indicating that the casts were produced by the Valsuani foundry. This is supported by the additional marks, 'Modèle Déposé, confirming Rateau's patent on this design. Subsequent to recent examination of the Valsuani archives, an active collaboration between Rateau and Valsuani is recorded between 1934-1937, with documentation noting an order in 1936, for seven casts of a lamp that can be reasonably assumed to be a variant of Rateau's own of 1931. It is known that Rateau's accounts suffered as a result of the global economic crisis of the early 1930s, which, together with the expenses involved in the renovation of his apartment, resulted in the reduction of the number of artisans employed in his workshops at Levallois-Perret. During his most prolific period of activity, 1927-1929, Rateau employed more than two hundred workers, which had dropped to only twenty-six by 1933. It therefore appears logical to conclude that from 1933 onwards, Rateau was obliged to sub-contract a proportion of his production to an external foundry.

Christie's would like to thank Anne Demeurisse for her assistance in the cataloguing of this and the following lot.

Specialist note

cf. F. Olivier-Vial, F. Rateau, Armand Albert Rateau, Paris, 1992, pp. 198-199 for an illustration of another torchère of this model created for the designer's own use, 1931.

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ARMAND ALBERT RATEAU (1882-1938)

A PAIR OF 'PALMES' TORCHÈRES, CIRCA 1934-1937

Considering selling a similar item?

More Information

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ARMAND ALBERT RATEAU (1882-1938)

A PAIR OF 'PALMES' TORCHÈRES, CIRCA 1934-1937

Considering selling a similar item?

More Information

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