20 - François-Xavier LALANNE

François-Xavier LALANNE “Large Flock of Sheep” Rug – 1997 Relief-tufted wool Artcurial Edition Signed “FX.Lalanne,” titled “Grand troupeau de moutons,” and numbered “30/150” on a ribbon on the reverse 368 × 304 cm A copy of the purchase invoice dated May 25, 2002, will be provided to the buyer Provenance: Artcurial Gallery, Paris; acquired from the previous owner in 2002 by the current owner History: The “large model” of this rug is rare, as only about thirty were produced. Our rug is in very good condition because it was used very little and preserved with great care by its original owner. Artcurial rugs were made one by one by hand from pure New Zealand virgin wool using the “tuft” technique (in which each strand of wool is individually embedded in a canvas backing), ensuring high quality and durability. The rug was then sheared to even out the height of the fibers and to achieve the rounded shape of the sheep’s heads. Bibliography: Aura, Artcurial Notebooks, No. 2, October 1991, “The Art of the Contemporary Rug,” editorial by Bernard Frank, texts by Dorothée Lalanne, Paris 1991, n.p., for the small model Artcurial, *Les Objets du désir*, 1975–1996, Orlowski Éditions, Paris, 1996, p. 11 for the similar large model Daniel Abadie, *Lalanne(s)*, Flammarion, Paris, 2008, p. 139 for the small model Les Lalanne, exhibition catalog, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, March 17–July 4, 2010, pp. 90–91 for the small model A tufted wool “Grand troupeau de moutons” rug by François-Xavier Lalanne for Artcurial, signed, titled, and numbered—1997 144.88 × 119.68 in. François-Xavier LALANNE