‘House of Gucci’ glamorous lamp by Max Sauze is now available for your own home
House of Gucci traverses a 20-year period from 1975 to 1995, with film sets spanning from traditional luxury Italian villas and Gucci offices, to cool 80s clubs and modern New York city apartments. Maurizio and Patrizia Gucci’s New York home is a particularly glamorous affair and one item of decor caught our gaze.
In this predominantly high-white room of the Gucci’s apartment we find some fabulous furniture (including chairs such as the Eames rocking chairs and Platner arm chairs), bold art and Berber rugs. Sitting on the wooden sideboard we spotted a flash of chrome which has continually played on our minds since seeing the film first time around: Here sits a stunning geometric sculptural lamp with an enlightening story to tell.
This light is called Cassiopeia (‘Cassiopée’ in French), a piece of art and supreme craftsmanship designed and manufactured by the French designer Max Sauze in the late 1960s. Max Sauze was a master of metal and created dynamic and sculptural light fixtures.
These lamps have become collectors items and we are delighted to collaborate with Max’s son Sebastien Sauze to bring you these iconic slatted aluminium lamps designed by his Father, newly made by hand to the original design.
A master of metal
Max Sauze was born in 1933 in Algeria and after attending the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts d’Alger (1953- 56), went on to study at the famous École Camondo in Paris (1956-59). Shortly after, he began producing his own designs in a small art workshop in Algiers. In 1963, Sauze moved back to France, to Éguilles near Aix en Provence.
During the early 1970s, Sauze established his own immediately recognisable style through the construction of bent aluminium strips on steel wire structures. He is today recognised internationally for his work.
Sauze’s most famous designs are named after constellations and other celestial bodies, hence the name Cassiopeia, the constellation in the northern sky named after the vain queen Cassiopeia, mother of Andromeda, in Greek mythology, and perhaps it’s appearance in House of Gucci is subtle reference to the Patrizia Gucci character in the film.
The complexly geometric Cassiopée light was first created at a sizeable chandelier for the Congress Center in Aix en Provence, France and then went on to be produced in smaller versions for the private market.
They are both sculptures and lights, objects of mystery and beauty, whether lit or not. Like wood turned by the experienced hands of a cabinetmaker, metal also needs to be mastered to reveal its hidden alchemy; it has a past. The lamp is built with curved and slatted aluminium elements to provide a symmetrical design with a beautiful, intriguing play of light.
Sebastian was surprised as anyone to see his Fathers lamp in House of Gucci: “We had a surprise, my father and me, to discover our sculptural aluminium lighting Cassiopeia in Ridley Scott’s movie House of Gucci. This model is particularly representative of our brand and our work, it has strong connotations with 1970s while remaining timeless and this is why we continue to produce it” he told us.
Passion and craftsmanship
The Cassiopeia by Max Sauze light has featured in the book 1000 Lights by Taschen.
The interiors and film sets in House of Gucci were created by production Designer Arthur Max and set decorator Letizia Santucci.
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