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Luigi Caccia Dominioni 'Sasso' lampsThe rare series of Sasso (Stone) lamps, designed in 1948 by Luigi Caccia Dominioni, can be seen as amongst the most reductivist and forward-thinking designs of their time. The Sasso lamps are distilled to their essence, with nothing superfluous but still rich in a mechanical and a spiritual essence. The lamps have a poetic functionality, animating interiors and interacting with their human inhabitants as a character in a play.Luigi Caccia Dominioni emerged in the wake of World War II's devastation with an intense desire to make something new. Innovation in materials and new ideas proliferated in art and technology which lead in turn to conceptual designs and innovation in architecture and furniture. Caccia Dominioni was a brilliant designer whose work was conscientious of precedent but struck new ground by balancing design and function in his designs with a supreme attention to detail.Decades before, in 1913 and facing the turmoil of World War I, Marcel Duchamp combined a bicycle wheel with a bar stool to otherworldly effect, proclaiming a new art: the Readymade. In the Sasso lamps, Caccia Dominioni performs a similar alchemy converting found objects to functional design. Lampshades originally made for Singer sewing machines and carefully selected river stones of onyx are connected by a chromium-plated machined rod. The lamp has a dual role as a symbol of automation and progress, but also reflects the pulled-from-the-rubble nature of Milan as it rebuilt itself after the August 1943 Allied bombings. This dichotomy is clearly evident in the lamps as the viewer reconciles disparate forces: the lamp alternately conveys permanence and movement, refinement and decay. These elements, lampshades and armatures, are inserted into naturally contoured stones, a chunk of metamorphosed rock that emerges from deep in the earth in a transformed and beautiful state. The metamorphic design of the Sasso lamps which emanates from the ground through found materials and into mechanical function is nearly unique in the scope of modernist design.Beyond Duchamp, a precedent for the Sasso may stem from Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion of 1927, where Modernism achieved an elegance and refinement that forced all architects after that point to reconcile two factors: nature and the machine. Mies designed an open plan, that reflected light, circulated air and shadow to represent time and to accentuate the forms in space. These elements of nature prevail in the Pavilion, contrasting chromium clad columns against travertine floors and solid onyx wall. The Sasso lamps encapsulate that purity of spirit and make it portable.The lamp emerges from the rock like a plant that has sprouted from a crack, growing illuminated flowers at its apex. The Sasso are a perfect distillation to the essential: function and efficiency in use, but rooted in nature and the spirit of time. The work takes on other characteristics as a primitive torch planted into the ground or even as a clairvoyant, predicting the forms of the space age like a primitive antenae.With a newly formed company Azucena, Caccia Dominioni partnered with Ignazio Gardella to produce a new furniture, one that was elegant and useful but spare in its creation. As cities rebuilt, they developed the furnishings of their buildings to reflect the rooms they were placed in, to connect the rooms to the buildings and the buildings to the rebuilt city.FORMERLY IN THE COLLECTION OF LUIGI CACCIA DOMINIONI

LUIGI CACCIA DOMINIONI (1913-2016)

A rare 'Sasso' standard lamp, circa 1948

Details

LUIGI CACCIA DOMINIONI (1913-2016)
A rare 'Sasso' standard lamp, circa 1948
brown onyx, anodised metal, brass
manufactured by Azucena, Milan, Italy
70 in. high (178 cm.)

Provenance

Luigi Caccia Dominioni, Milan;
Maria Teresa Tosi, Milan;
Marta Sala, Milan;
Private Collection.

Literature

Other examples illustrated:
'Apparecchi per l'illuminazione alla IX Triennale', Domus, no. 261, August 1951, the table lamp version illustrated p. 32, fig. 13;
L. Licitra Ponti, E. Ritter, 'Terrazzi e scale', Mobili e interni di architetti italiani, 1952, the table lamp version illustrated p. 120;
G. Nelson, Display, Interiors Library no. 3, New York, 1953, p. 79;
'Pareti colorate, disegni nel pavimento', Domus, no. 314, January 1956, p. 22;
G. Gramigna, Repertorio 1950-1980, Milan, 1985, the table lamp version illustrated p. 58;
'Azucena, 40 anni di storia dell'arredo', Domus, no. 723, January 1991, p. 70, fig. 4;
M.A. Crippa, Luigi Caccia Dominioni, Flussi, spazi e architettura, Turin, 1996, the table lamp version illustrated p. 87, fig. 3;
A. Bassi, Italian Lighting Design, 1945-2000, Milan, 2004, p. 52.

Special notice

These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction. This lot will be removed to Christie’s Park Royal. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. Our removal and storage of the lot is subject to the terms and conditions of storage which can be found at Christies.com/storage and our fees for storage are set out in the table below - these will apply whether the lot remains with Christie’s or is removed elsewhere. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Christie’s Park Royal. All collections from Christie’s Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s it will be available for collection on any working day 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. Lots are not available for collection at weekends.

Brought to you by

Jeremy Morrison

jmorrison@christies.com +44 (0)20 7752 3274

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