Mallett - Willy Rizzo II

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WILLY RIZZO

description

Mallett's second exhibition of Willy Rizzo furniture and Ballet photography.

Transcript of Mallett - Willy Rizzo II

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WILLYRIZZO

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PUBLISHED TO ACCOMPANY EXHIBITIONS

IN LONDON & NEW YORK

5-16 OCTOBER 2009

Mallett 141 New Bond Street London W1S 2BS

Telephone 020 7499 7411

2-14 NOVEMBER 2009

Mallett Inc 929 Madison Avenue at 74th Street New York 10021

Telephone 001 212 249 8783

mallettantiques.com

WILLYRIZZO

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Working with Willy and his wonderful wifeDominique has been one of the most stimulating and fascinating aspects of life at Mallettover the last few years. Since our first exhibition of his vintage work and portrait photo-graphy we have been amazed and delighted by the interest that has been generated bothin Europe and in America. Many old friends and clients of Willy have been in contact anda whole new generation of enthusiasts has been born.

Sitting in Willy’s dining room in Paris eating delicious pasta washed down by a glass (ortwo) of wine, one is constantly inspired by Willy’s sense of humour and energy. Many atime he would walk around and point to himself and ask me “why does everyone wantvintage? Am I a vintage? Here I am.” He jokes that he is his own ‘père et fils’. In our mindswe see the sign above the shop “Willy Rizzo, père et fils”. It is also true, he has had along and successful career but he is also keen on the future and thinking about what next.Following the success and sell out of his last show his creative brain went into overdriveplanning and trying to improve and reinvent the best pieces. The product, two years later,is the exhibition and catalogue that accompanies it. Included are some completely newpieces, others inspired by his creations from the 60s and 70s and finally adapted piecesfrom previous designs. All are offered with certification and, except for the lamps, arelimited edition.

In addition and perhaps with an eye to the ‘père’ sobriquet we are offering a collection oflimited edition silver gelatin prints taken by Willy of dance and the ballet in Paris in the1950s. This collection is largely unpublished and never before produced at this size. Forboth the enthusiast and the amateur we hope the marvellously conceived and executedimages will prove enticing. To accompany the collection Willy has designed and made anew steel frame.

We hope you enjoy the catalogue and have a chance to visit the show either in London orin New York. Please contact any of our sales team if you have any questions.

Thomas Woodham-Smith

Left, Willy Rizzo at Gunter Sach’s Paris home in 1963Overleaf, Willy with Audrey Hepburn in 1966

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uring the Fifties Willy Rizzo, master of thescoop, one of the world's greatest photojournalists in a golden age of reportage, wastravelling around the world to cover the hottest stories. His Leica and Rolleiflex recordedthe tragedies of war in Indo-China (now Vietnam) a coup d'état in Egypt. He was first inthe Vatican to photograph the new Pope Pius XII. His colour portrait of Winston Churchillmade the first cover of Paris-Match. He took pictures of the Kings of Morocco and Jordanand newly elected Presidents of France, where no one else could penetrate the protocol.

A Rizzo photo reportage devoted to Maria Callas inspired Hergé to create ‘Walter Rizotto’,the ultimate cameraman, for a Tintin adventure The Castafiore Emerald.

Away from the heat of reporting, he was preoccupied by an extraordinary variety ofsubjects. He carried out original research into the lives of Jules Verne and Leonardo daVinci, and, not surprising given his love of movie stars, the history of Los Angeles.

Willy Rizzo enjoyed being part of a charmed circle in Paris during the fifties. He was the‘grand seigneur’ among a new photo-aristocracy. The houses of such cultivated friends asthe surrealist artist Jean Cocteau, and Louise de Vilmorin, writer of exquisite novels,inspired him to start interior decorating, where he always put structure and space aheadof bibelots.

Rizzo has always understood fashion, ordered his own suits from the finest tailors, adoredbeautiful elegant women. In the Fifties Alex Liberman art director of Vogue (Rizzo hasalways known EVERYONE), a creative genius who had commissioned such masters ofphotography as Kertesz, Capa and Brassai, asked him to 'use his eye' for haute couture.

This was an immensely difficult new technique for Rizzo to master, after the immediacy ofreporting. It meant experimenting with different lighting techniques, taking on an altogetherunfamiliar artistic discipline.

D Opposite, ParisMatch coversphotographed by Willy Rizzobetwwen 1949and 1957

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To follow his successful pictures of high fashion, the next step for Willy Rizzo was to catchthe spirit of dance, an art form he has always loved. As a child he took modern dance andtap lessons, later classical ballet classes in the academies of the Champs Elysees.

Another technical challenge to be faced, he had to devise a way to seize that airy leap, orfleeting expression, and to inspire the dancers. He told them to imagine being filmed bya movie camera which records 24 frames in a second.

His ingenious device was a 'kalart' (invented in 1930 for military purposes) attached to thefront of his Rolleiflex which allowed the focus to be synchronised with flash lamps. Thissystem allowed him to catch natural movement on a still camera, impossible if he had torely on natural or theatre lighting.

Above and opposite,spreads from ParisMatch between 1949and 1955

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Only flash will allow the camera to be set at a fast enough speed. Progress came yearslater when cameras were manufactured with an internal synchronised flash mechanism.

An artist but also a gifted technical innovator, Willy Rizzo greatly expanded his photographicrepertoire during the fifties from portraits of actors and reporting. He transformed fashionmodels into dream creatures and miraculously caught dancers in flight.

His social life informed his interest in design and decoration, leading to furniture design in1968, a new chapter in his life. Willy Rizzo has equal gifts as creator of unforgettablephotographic images, and furniture on pure neo-classical lines, which will stand the testof time.

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THE WILLY RIZZO FRAMEThese are a new design made of bronze patinated brass sandwiching a filet of polished brass.They are signed and numbered, and are exclusive to the exhibition and catalogue.Height: 43in (109cm) Width: 39in (99cm)

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The images on the following pages are all silver-gelatine prints and of alarger size than Willy has hitherto produced.

Each print will be signed and numbered and are in editions of eight.

Especially for this exhibition Willy has designed and produced a new designof frame which will be both signed and numbered in the same edition sizeas the photographs. Each of the frames has been made under his controllingeye and offers a unique opportunity to enjoy the fusion of artist and designerthat is Willy Rizzo.

The brushed steel and brass design harmonises elegantly with the imagesand captures both the spirit of the age and our era.

The frames can be ordered ‘off set’ and could be mounted with mirror plate.

BALLETPHOTOGRAPHS1949-1959

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CARMEN ROJAS, 1955THE SPIRIT OF FLAMENCO

Carmen Rojas, as Rosario in the Tanguillo de Cadix. Produced by Antonio y losBallets de Madrid. She danced a mixture of old flamenco songs, which had beendiscovered and revived by the famous poet Garcia Lorca. The Flamenco is adeceptively easy dance to perform. When performed by a master it gives theimpression that anyone can do it however the opposite is the truth as only yearsof training and probably Spanish blood make it both magical and accessible.

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LA NUIT EST UNE SORCIÈRE, THÉATREDES CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES, 1955BALANCING THE NEEDS OF THE DANCERWITH THOSE OF THE PHOTOGRAPHER

This ballet is most romantic, perhaps made more so inthis performance by the fact that the two lead dancersJosette Clavier and Pierre Lacotte were married in reallife. A bird seller, danced by Clavier, is sad because shehas lost her favourite bird. A mysterious boy, danced byLacotte, choreographer and founder of Les Ballets de la Tour Eiffel, brings it back and they fall in love. SidneyBechet, who composed the music for this ballet,performed on saxophone, Daniel Wayenberg played the piano accompanied by Charles Aznavour, the worldfamous singer.

“Photographing Ballet is extremely hard as it is impossibleto take the same picture twice. One has to balance theneeds of the dancer with those of the photographer; it istoo often the case that beautiful steps are not photogenic.I like the poses in this photograph because thoughobviously static they give an idea of movement.”

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FRED ASTAIRE AND AUDREY HEPBURN, 1956WILLY RIZZO'S LEICA AND A GIVENCHY DRESS

In the film Funny Face, Fred Astaire caricatures the photographer trying to findthe best angle for his model in her Givenchy dress. Hepburn took ballet lessonsin order to be able to dance with this legend of dance. “I took these pictures witha Leica, we worked outside all day but my camera had a fault which would havebeen impossible to notice before and the pictures were ruined. I went to seeAudrey to tell her how upset I was. I also knew Fred Astaire of whom I had takenseveral portraits. They were very kind and agreed to shoot the pictures again.”

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SERGE GOLOVINE, 1958THIS ‘BOND’ OR LEAP INSPIRED BY NIJINSKY

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After Vaslav Nijinsky created Le Bond du Spectre de la Rose in 1911, SergeGolovine (1924-1998) rediscovers it. Bronislava Nijinska, Nijinsky’s sister, taughtGolovine how to keep his balance in the air using the strength of his abdominalmuscles. Golovine was a star of the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevasthroughout the 1950s working alongside dancers such as Rosella Hightower,Marjorie Tallchief, Georges Skibine, and Georges Zoritch.

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SERGE GOLOVINE, 1958 AN ARTIST FAMOUS FOR HIS ACROBATIC LEAPS

“He (Golovine) demonstrated many different ballet positions. We choose one forhim which he rehearsed many times. I fixed my lighting and I shot the picture. Iknow when I have the right image.” Golovine was famous for his airborne leapsand the lightness and articulation of his footwork. This shot was taken at thetime he was performing in Le Spectre de la Rose and is typical of this balletwhich features a number of challenging choreographic leaps.

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MARJORIE TALLCHIEF, 1954THE FIRST AMERICAN TOBECOME 'PREMIÈRE DANSEUSEÉTOILE’ AT THE OPÉRA DE PARIS

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Seen here in the costume by Alwyn Nikolais, who directed thechoreography of the ballet L’Idylle. Tallchief is the daughter of the great Osage Indian tribal leader, Alexander Tall Chief and was the firstAmerican to become Première Danseuse Étoile at the Opéra de Paris.At the time this photograph was taken Tallchief was dancing with theLe Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas. This picture is taken with aRolleiflex and the new electronic flash.

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MARJORIE TALLCHIEF, 1954A MAGNIFICENT LEAP CAPTURINGONE OF THE BALLERINA’S FINEST ROLES

This was shot during a performance of L’Idylle at Théâtre de l’Empire. In thepicture she is the Pouliche or Filly. The horse to the left is danced by herhusband George Skibine – a Russian born dancer and choreographer, and tothe right, is the stallion, played by Vladimir Skouratoff, who is going to seducethe Pouliche. Skouratoff specialised in character roles and choreographed partsin this ballet along with those in Serge Lifar's Dramma per musica and ShotaRustaveli (both 1946). This was one of Tallchief’s most highly acclaimed roles.

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STUDENTS AT THE OPÉRA DE PARIS, 1954A MOMENT OF LAUGHTER AMID INTENSE REHEARSAL

This building is significant in the history of ballet and its development as an art. Pierre Beauchamps, the first choreographer of the Opéra de Paris, used tothrow grain to the pigeons to derive inspiration from the groups they formed.He has been credited with the codification of the five positions of the feet.Serge Lifar was director of the Opéra de Paris in the 1930s and began a strictlydisciplined routine. He even asked to switch off the lights on the stage so thatthe ballerinas could not be recognised by their admirers. He instituted weeklyballet performances laying emphasis upon the art of ballet in its own right asopposed to solely in conjunction with opera.

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CON COLLEANO, CIRQUE MEDRANO, 1949 A CAPTURED SPLIT SECOND OF COURAGE,BALANCE, COMPOSURE AND EXTREME TENSION

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“Five minutes before this picture was taken, the wire had broken and Colleanohad fallen.” At 51 years old Con Colleano (1899-1973) was the greatest tightropewalker in the world. Born in Australia he adopted a Spanish toreador persona in April 1924 in order to boost box office sales. His act included bull-fightingmovements from the ring, Spanish dance moves on the wire along with adangerous forward somersault. He worked with the fantastic Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus in the United States.

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JEAN BABILÉE IN BALANCE À TROIS, 1956 DANCED AND CHOREOGRAPHED BY THE'JAMES DEAN' OF PARIS BALLET

Born in 1923, Jean Babilée was known as the ‘James Dean’ of ballet. Hemarried to Nathalie Philippart, who was also his partner in Les Ballets desChamps Elysées. He is very handsome, typically French and very muscular;different from the Russian school. Balance à Trois is one of several balletsBabilée choreographed, and was one of his most successful.

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SONIA PETROVNA,1966THE BIRTH OF A NEW TALENT

She was a student at the École de Danse de L’Opéra de Paris when she wasphotographed by Willy Rizzo. She is French and lived with her family in Parisbut took a Russian theatre name as was fashionable after the fame of theBallets Russes. Shortly after this photograph was taken she was chosen tostar in a short film, Adolescence for which she received the San Georgio Prizeat the Venice Biennale and which marked the start of her career as an actress.

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SONIA PETROVNA IN ADOLESCENCE, 1966ROMANCE AND BEAUTY CAPTURED BYINSPIRED LIGHTING AND INFORMALITY

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The film Adolescence by Vladimir Forgency was nominated for an academyaward in 1966. A beautiful movie, nouvelle vague in style, about the transmissionof classic dance to a new generation by Russian star Lubov Egorova (1880-1972,later Princess Nikita Troubetska). Egorova began her dancing career at theMaryinsky Theatre, St Petersburg and went on to become one of Russia’s starballerina’s, dancing with Diaghilev's Ballets Russes from (1921-2). Egorovafounded her own ballet school in 1923, and in 1937 her small company LesBallets de la Jeunesse was formed which inspired the filming of Adolescence.

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SAUT DE L’ANGE,1955ROLAND PETIT AND HISPARTNER LEAP ENERGETICALLY

Performed by Roland Petit and a dancer from the company he formedin 1948. Petit was a pupil at the Paris Opera Ballet School from 1934to 1940 after which he joined the same company for four years. Thenhe left to concentrate on his choreography and founded the ‘Balletsdes Champs Elysées’ with Boris Kochno and Christian Bérard, wherehe was also the star dancer. Petit was renowned for his theatrical useof set and costume and his acrobatic choreography.

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‘LA BELLE HÉLÈNE’, OPÉRA DE PARIS, 1955TWO DANCERS CAPTURE THE FANTASY OF OFFENBACH

Micheline Grimoin and Josette Amiel, first dancers from L’Opéra de Paris,interpret the evolution of dance in a ballet inspired by ‘La belle Hélène’ byJacques Offenbach. Choreography was by John Cranko, a South African mostwell known for his work with the Sadler’s Wells Ballet (later The Royal Ballet)and the Stuttgart Ballet.

“I wanted a black background, so I took the picture from backstage with theroom in black, and a violent flash light at the side for the relief.”

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CINDERELLA, THÉÂTRE DES CHAMPS ÉLYSÉES, 1963 AT THE TIME THE MOST EXPENSIVE BALLET PERFORMED IN PARIS

At the time this production was the most expensive ballet ever mounted,costing 135 million Francs (the equivalent of 2 million dollars) to produce.Jacqueline de Ribes and Raymondo de Larrain (nephew of the Marquis deCuevas) raised the money. It combined the children’s fairytale story with themodern choreography of Vaslav Orlikovsky, Master of the Basel Ballet. Theclown was danced by Phillip Dalhmann.

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The prince, danced by Viktor Rona, principal dancer and later director of balletat the Budapest Opera House, compares two shoes and realises that he has found the one which will fit Cinderella. Cinderella is danced by GalinaSamsova, a Russian dancer who trained at the Kiev Ballet School but at thetime of this ballet performance, was dancing at the National Ballet of Canada,which she joined in 1961.

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LESLIE CARON, OPÉRA DE PARIS, 1950DISCOVERED BY WILLY LAUNCHED THROUGH PARIS MATCH

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Caron had her first magazine cover in Paris Match in 1950. Willy was lookingfor a subject for the magazine’s May edition: “I went to the Bar des Théâtres infront of Théâtre des Champs Élysées and looked at this young dancer crossingthe street. It gave me an idea. I told her I wanted to put her on the cover ofParis Match. She laughed and said “I am not fooled by that old story!”. But shewas persuaded and I shot her photo at her parents’ house the very next day inBagatelle. I put a branch of lilies in her hand and took the picture. Sometimeafter Gene Kelly called the magazine and asked for me, he wanted to knowhow to find this girl. This was the start of her career.”

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ROSELLA HIGHTOWER, 1951A STAR IS BORN AT THE EMPIRE THEATRE

Along the Seine in Paris, the legacy of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes had inspired anew generation of dancers and was breathing new energy into classical ballet.Hightower is the proof. When she first danced in Paris at the Alhambra, 1947,with the Grand Ballet du Marquis du Cuevas, she received only a warmreception but went on to receive high acclaim for her role in Swan Lakeamongst many others. The role of the Black Swan is a huge challenge for anyballerina. The music is composed by Tchaïkovsky and the choregraphy was byMarius Petipa (1822-1910).

Hightower began her dance training at the class of Dorothy Perkins in KansasCity. In 1937 she went to Monte Carlo at the invitation of Léonide Massine,principal choreographer of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. She joined the GrandBallet du Marquis du Cuevas in 1947. The Marquis du Cuevas (of Santiago,Chile), was the husband of a grand-daughter of Rockfeller; an eccentricpersonality who had a huge passion for dance and Ballet in particular.

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TUTUS AT THE OPÉRA DE PARIS, 1954 THE MAGIC AND DRAMA OF BALLET SUSPENDED IN TIME

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This year witnessed the introduction of tutus for its ballerinas. Dance costume has evolvedconsiderably since women began performing in 1681. The first ballerina to dance “withoutpannier, skirt or bodice”, wearing only a muslindress over her petticoat, was Marie Sallé in1734, in order to have freer movement and so that her audience could see her gracefulfootwork. However, it was not until the end of 19th century that the bell-shaped tulle skirts were replaced with 16-layer tutus whichallowed ballerinas much greater mobility. Thesein turn were replaced with the short ‘powder-puff’ tutus instigated under George Balanchine’sdirectorship at the Ballet Russe de Monte Carloin 1950. This tutu design can be seen aboveand is used in ballet companies worldwide. “For me The Opera is the palace of the stars,where golden voices sing out and we attend themysteries of this palace of mirages where thepublic can worship and pay homage to the lordsof performance.”

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LUDMILA TCHERINA, GALA, 1962THE SHADOW OF DALI AND HIS ALL SEEING EYE

Gala was a collaboration between Maurice Béjart, choreographer andSalvador Dali, whose wife lends her name to the title of the production.Dali wrote the story and designed sets and costumes for the balletwhich premiered at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, 1961. We see himhere silhouetted against the clock in the background. This wasTcherina’s last new dancing role after a long and illustrious careerdancing with Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo, Les Ballets des ChampsÉlysées and appearing often with the Paris Opera, the Bolshoi Balletand the Kirov Ballet as a guest performer.

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allett have collaborated with Willy Rizzo tolaunch a new collection of furniture. His sleek and innovative neo-classical designs, each as apair and in limited edition in 'noble materials' such as stone, marble, brass and stainless steel,will be for sale at Mallett in London and New York during October and November.

Each piece has been conceived for the way we live now. Rizzo chose to work with Mallett for asecond time, confident that they combine a profound knowledge of craftsmanship with a feelingfor changing fashion. They alone have rediscovered the Rizzo star quality and its contemporaryrelevance. Glamorous, comfortable, adaptable, indestructible, timeless furniture, equally at homein a minimalist as a grand traditional interior. Vintage pieces have been tripling in value over thelast few years. Inferior versions, sometimes obvious copies, were beginning to appear. It seemedtimely to re-introduce a new and original collection.

Willy Rizzo made his name photographing beautiful people, who adored his company, andalways will. But the bon viveur artist who charmed celebrities was also an inventor, a giftedtechnician, a follower of Leonardo.

In 1968 he went to live in Rome and started to design furniture for his own apartment, inspiredby classical principles, made by a small group of craftsmen. Antiques were uncomfortable,Scandinavian and psychedelic style unsympathetic. His ultra chic brown, black and golddecoration, glossy geometric furniture, including tables with a 'bassin' for chilled champagne,and a lamp to 'encourage flirting' brought all the Dolce Vita princes and playboys of the newlynamed Jet Set, wanting more of the same. Commissions came from Brigitte Bardot andSalvador Dali. The Rizzo atelier grew to employ 150 cabinetmakers, and the world took notice.

But in 1980 Rizzo decided to return to photography. His furniture retreated into the shadows, butnow thanks to Mallett prescience, returns to the limelight it deserves in a collection of signed,limited edition works, each piece supported by a certificate of authenticity.

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THE PARALLÈLEA pair of side tables with a drawer ‘parallèle’ blackLacquer and stainless steel. Edition of 12, each pieceis signed and sold with a certificate of authenticity.Height: 20in (60cm)Width: 23in (50cm)Depth: 20in (50cm)

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THE PARALLÈLEA pair of side tables with a drawer either in black lacquer orin mother of pearl. Mounted in bright polished stainless steel.Edition of 12, signed and certificated.Height: 20in (60cm)Width: 23in (50cm)Depth: 20in (50cm)

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THE TCG (TAVOLO COMMODINO GIREVOLE)A pair of rotating circular table-commodes in white lacquer and stainlesssteel with 3 drawers, each side of which has a secret drawer. Edition of 12, signed and certificated.Height: 12in (32cm)Depth: 29in (75cm)

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RE THE WR TRIC TRAC 2009

A tric trac table, bronze patinated with brass enrichments the reversabletop in dark brown suede, the playing surface in green and red leather inreference to the Italian flag. With hidden drawers in the frieze. Edition of 12, signed and certificated.Height: 29in (74cm)Width: 33in (85cm)Depth: 33in (85cm)

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THE LOVE TRIANGLEA pair of triangular table lamps in stainless steel, theinterior copper plated and the lamps fitted with dimmers. Signed and certificated.Height: 25in (65cm)Width: 14in (35cm)Depth: 14in (35cm)

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RE THE NEW GENERATION COMMODE

A pair of commodes in ‘marron marbré’ with 10 drawers & 1 secret drawer.Edition of 12, signed and certificated.Height: 33in (85cm)Width: 47in (120cm)Depth: 17in (45cm)

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THE LACQUER LOW TABLEA rectangular lacquer and mother of pearl coffee table with internal polished steel liner. Edition of 12, signed and certificated.Height: 13in (34cm)Width: 55in (140cm)Depth: 31in (80cm)

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RE THE FLAMINIA END TABLES

A pair of polished brass end tables with black granite topsand dark glass lower tier. Edition of 12, signed and certificated.

Height: 20in (50cm)Width: 31in (80cm)Depth: 20in (50cm)

F2J0121

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FU

RN

ITU

RE

THE FLAMINIA END TABLESA pair of polished brass end tables with Roman travertine tops anddark glass lower tier. Edition of 12, signed and certificated.Height: 20in (50cm)Width: 31in (80cm)Depth: 20in (50cm)

F2J0120

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Mallett & Son (Antiques) Ltd 2009Designed by Sinclair CommunicationsPrinted in England by BAS

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