Important Collectors’ Wristwatches, P...

Geneva, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Du Rhône, May 13, 2007

LOT 24

"Art Deco Bakelite Table Lamp Clock" Léon Hatot, Fabricants, Paris, (ATO), "Electrique", No. 59441. Made circa 1933. Fine, unusual and very rare, "bakelite" and black opaline Art Deco table lamp with electric clock, shade attributed to Sophie Taüber.

CHF 6,000 - 9,000

EUR 3,700 - 5,500 / USD 5,000 - 7,500

C. Square, "bakelite" body and back door, chromed bezel, black opaline ball supporting the lamp fitting, block feet. D. Silvered, flinqué, sunken chapter ring with black Arabic numerals, outer minute indexes, the center decorated with stylized leaves. Black "Art Deco" hands. M. 120 mm., battery driven, electromagnetic pendulum. Dial and movement signed. Dim. 16 cm. square. Property of a French Gentleman


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Grading System
Grade: A

Good
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 4*

Fair

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 3-01

Good

HANDS Original

Notes

Sophie Taüber Born in 1889 in Davos, Switzerland, she became a member of the Swiss Werkbund in 1915. Taüber taught textile design at the School of Applied Arts in Zürich from 1916-1929, while her independent artistic career led to contact with the Dadaists in Zürich. She married Hans Arp in 1921. Best known for her paintings and graphic designs in abstract geometrical forms, Sophie Taüber-Arp died in Zürich on 13 January, 1943. The trademark ?bakelite? and its associated logo were first used in the early years of the 20th century to describe the products of the phenol- formaldehyde reaction developed in America by Leo H Baekeland. His patent specifications covering the chemical reaction and its uses are regarded by many as the birth certificate of the modern plastics industry. Baekeland and his lawyers eventually found it impossible to protect this tradename and the word "bakelite" came into generic useage to describe any early plastic of similar type.