As part of the Wednesday 12 March 2020 auction dedicated to artists' jewellery, the PIASA auction house is pleased to offer collectors an ambitious selection of nearly 80 pieces. The selection reflects the propensity of certain designers to build bridges between the different techniques used.
Born in Manila in 1928, Naef Orfaley and his family moved to Buenos-Aires in 1933. He began studying design. Soon his works caught the attention of the critics, leading to their commercial success. He moved to the United States in 1969 and exhibited at Cartier in New York the following year, then at the Archer Gallery in London in 1971.
Anxious to use a wide variety of materials by exploring several techniques, Naef Orfaley is at the origin of a production that consists of furniture and objects but also fabrics and lighting. It is as an autodidact that he launches out in the realization of jewels. His iconographic repertoire reflects the decisive place that nature and animals occupy in the artist's life.
The zoomorphic aspect of his pieces can be either extremely discreet and allusive, or much more explicit, as is the case with this piece representing a ram. His front legs are crossed. Lying down, the animal, about twenty centimetres high, seems to be at rest.
The volumes of the muscles are obtained thanks to a malachite egg, while its head is rendered by a small shell surface on which a piece of malachite has been embedded representing the end of the muzzle and the eyes represented by small onyx beads.
Naef ORFALEY (né en 1928)
Années 1950.
Pièce unique.
Importante sculpture précieuse en forme de bélier.
Dimensions : 21 x 15 x 10 cm.
Poids brut : 1.924 g
Estimation: 15 000 / 20 000 euros
The expressive power of malachite, which Pliny himself praised in his own time for the voluptuous textures it produced, combines with great elegance with the silvery hues of the metal. Produced by the oxidation of copper sulphides, the innumerable shades of green seem capable of setting the piece in motion.
A true leitmotif, the spiral shape is found in most of the artist's works. It embodies a kind of ideal by imposing itself as the ultimate symbol of perfection. This ram offered for sale is estimated at between 15,000 and 20,000 euros.
