British Painter Buys at Antique Shop
World-Renowned Master Giacometti Chandelier
An item purchased for 380,000 won in the 1960s at an antique shop in the UK has been revealed to be a rare chandelier by Alberto Giacometti (1901?1966).
The chandelier, bought in the 1960s by the late British painter John Craxton in an antique shop in Marylebone, London, was recently authenticated as a Giacometti work and will be auctioned this February through the major auction house Christie's.
Craxton hung the chandelier in his home in Hampstead, North London, for 50 years. Known for his keen eye, Craxton was convinced that the chandelier was a piece commissioned by his late friend and art collector Peter Watson from Giacometti, which led him to purchase it.
However, in 2015, there was controversy over whether the chandelier was truly made by Giacometti. The Craxton Memorial Trust entered a long battle to prove the authenticity of the piece. In December 2021, the chandelier was sent to the Giacometti Museum in Paris for appraisal.
A representative from Aston Lark, the London insurance brokerage company responsible for transporting the chandelier, said, "Sending the chandelier to Paris, France, and bringing it back required a major security operation, but it was worth the effort."
He added, "This chandelier, commissioned by Peter Watson, is considered one of the most important hanging sculptures alongside Giacometti's famous surrealist sculpture 'Suspended Ball.'"
James Glenney, an antique appraiser involved in the chandelier's appraisal process, stated, "Giacometti made only about five or six chandeliers, and none of the others have such a story. This chandelier for Peter Watson should be regarded not as a lighting fixture but as an artwork."
Around September 2011, Giacometti's bronze 'Annette X,' which appeared for the first time in a domestic art auction, was sold for 1.4 billion won. [Photo by Asia Economy]
The art world expects the chandelier to fetch around 7 million pounds (approximately 10.7 billion won) at auction, considering that a similar Giacometti piece sold for 9.3 million dollars (about 11.4 billion won) in a 2018 auction.
Michelle Macmillan, a Christie's auction official, said, "Alberto's works, along with those of his younger brother Diego, who was also a sculptor and furniture designer, are receiving better recognition than ever."
Giacometti, originally from Switzerland, drew global attention when his 'Walking Man I' sold for 104.32 million dollars (about 120 billion won) at a Sotheby's auction in London in 2010, breaking the previous record held by Picasso's 'Boy with a Pipe' in 2005.
Influenced by his father Giovanni (1868?1933), a renowned Post-Impressionist painter, Giacometti is regarded as having built a unique artistic world through his continuous exploration of the essence of objects and existential concerns. His representative work, 'Man Pointing' (1947), sold for 141.3 million dollars (about 170 billion won) at Christie's New York auction in 2015.
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