Explore David Bowie’s extensive Memphis furniture collection due to be auctioned
Jason Sayer
Lot 477:
Ettore Sottsass
‘CARLTON’ ROOM DIVIDER
with metal label MEMPHIS / MILANO / ETTORE SOTTSASS / 1981 /
MADE IN ITALY. Plastic-laminated wood. (Courtesy Sotheby’s)
Lot 448: Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007)
‘CASABLANCA’ SIDEBOARD. Designed 1981
wood, laminate. (Courtesy Sotheby’s)
Lot 428: Michele de Lucchi ‘LIDO’ SOFA. Plastic-laminated and lacquered wood, lacquered metal, with
fabric upholstery. (Courtesy Sotheby’s)
Lot 432: Ettore Sottsass
‘BEVERLY’ SIDEBOARD. Plastic-laminated wood, chromium-plated tubular steel, briar veneer. (Courtesy Sotheby’s)
Lot 424: Martine Bedin (born 1957) ‘SUPER’ LAMP. Designed 1981. Lacquered fibreglass, metal, rubber. (Courtesy Sotheby’s)
Lot 441: Nathalie du Pasquier ‘RIVERIA’ CARPET. Hand-knotted wool. (Courtesy Sotheby’s)
Lot 427: Peter Shire
‘HOLLYWOOD’ OCCASIONAL TABLE. Plastic-laminated and lacquered wood, lacquered tubular steel. (Courtesy Sotheby’s)
Lot 412: Michele de Lucchi. TWO ‘FIRST’ CHAIRS. Designed 1983. Lacquered wood and tubular steel. (Courtesy Sotheby’s)
Lot 426: Michele de Lucchi ‘FORTUNE’ DINING TABLE. Plastic-laminated and lacquered wood, glass. (Courtesy Sotheby’s)
Lot 478:
Peter Shire
‘BEL AIR’ ARMCHAIR. Lacquered wood with wool upholstery, with its original wood crate. (Courtesy Sotheby’s)
Lot 431: Ettore Sottsass
‘TARTAR’ CENTRE TABLE.
Plastic-laminated, lacquered and stained wood. (Courtesy Sotheby’s)
Lot 500: Ettore Sottsass
‘ENORME’ TELEPHONE. Moulded ABS plastic, rubber, with original printed cardboard box and instruction manual. (Courtesy Sotheby’s)
Lot 483: Michele de Lucchi
TWO ‘RIVIERA’ CHAIRS. Lacquered tubular steel, plastic-laminated wood with chintz upholstery. (Courtesy Sotheby’s)
Lot 479:
Marco Zanini
‘COLORADO’ TEAPOT. Glazed earthenware. (Courtesy Sotheby’s)
Lot 446:
Pier Giacomo and Achille Castiglioni
Brionvega Radiophonograph, model no RR 126
circa 1966. Wood, laminate, polycarbonate, painted aluminium. (Courtesy Sotheby’s)
Lot 420: Andrea Branzi
‘GRITTI’ BOOKSHELF. Designed 1981.
Plastic-laminated wood, ash, lacquered metal, glass. (Courtesy Sotheby’s)
Lot 413:
Michele de Lucchi
TWO ‘POLAR’ SIDE TABLES. Designed 1984. Plastic-laminated and lacquered wood. (Courtesy Sotheby’s)
Lot 405: Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007). ‘DON’ TABLE LAMP. Designed 1977. Lacquered metal(. Courtesy Sotheby’s)
Late British musician David Bowie’s substantial collection of Memphis furniture is to be auctioned off. Before his death on January 10 this year, Bowie was a big fan of the Memphis design group and Italian designer Ettore Sottsass’s work. During his lifetime, Bowie had accumulated more than 100 items of numerous sizes. Notable parts of his collection include Ettorre Sottsass’s Carlton bookcase, the ‘Valentine’ Portable Typewriter, Martin Bedin’s Super Lamp, and Peter Shire’s Bel Air armchair.
Lot 478: Peter Shire ‘BEL AIR’ ARMCHAIR. Lacquered wood with wool upholstery, with its original wood crate. (Courtesy Sotheby’s)
The items will be sold at Sotheby’s auction house in London on November 11 this year. Now Sotheby’s third auction since Bowie’s death, items are expected to fetch between $70 and $8,600 (the Carlton Bookcase being the item in question touted for that price).
Lot 401: Ettore Sottsass and Perry King ‘Valentine’ Portable Typewriter. Designed 1969. Moulded ABS plastic, metal, rubber. (Courtesy Sotheby’s)
“The works produced by the historical avant-garde design collaborative Memphis Milano, led by Ettore Sottsass, could not have found a more receptive and tuned-in audience than David Bowie,” said Cécile Verdier, co-head of 20th-century design at Sotheby’s. “This is design with no limits and no boundaries,” she continued. “When you look at a piece of Memphis design, you see their unconventionality, the kaleidoscope of forms and patterns, the vibrant contrasting colours that really shouldn’t work but really do.”
