Paolozzi elephant
Sir Eduardo Paolozzi KBE, RA (Uk 1924-2005)
Acrylic resin / linoleum. 1970s.
Cubist elephant advertising box. Acrylic resin / linoleum. Circa 1970s.
The Scottish graphic designer and sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi was commissioned by the linoleum company Nairn Floors to promote their products to architects and designers in the 1970s. Of the 3000 made, a limited number have survived and are coveted by collectors. Examples can be found in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Victoria & Albert Museum etc.
The top of the elephant is a lid that can be removed to reveal an inner compartment containing a selection of pamphlets/ brochures. One of the brochures details the design process from conception to the production stage of the elephant itself.
It has the artists impressed signature and is marked as number 630 from an edition of 3000. It has a presentation card with an indistinct signature (R/D?.Day) as well as all the pamphlets that were supplied with the box (One of the pamphlets has suffered some water damage that has resulted in all the pages sticking together unfortunately but the rest are all still intact) As often happens with these, the elephant’s trunk has been glued back on at some point during its lifetime.
39 x 14 x 29cm high
Price: 1,590 euro
[merzbau] 