Today, the reputation of the decorative art works created by Alberto Giacometti suffers a great deal from forgery, all the more so because this concerns works produced as limited but unnumbered editions. Forgeries come in particular from Argentina and the United States.
To ensure the traceability of each decorative artwork in bronze it certifies, the Giacometti Committee now bestows an edition number which is engraved on the piece.
EDITIONS OF ALBERTO GIACOMETTI’S OBJECTS FROM 1930 TO 1985.
The decorative art works designed by Alberto Giacometti were first produced by Chanaux & Co (Jean-Michel Frank), then by Jacques Adnet, and by Alberto Giacometti himself. These objects were either edited in plaster cast from moulds, or in bronze from plaster casts, or, above all, in bronze based on bronze models. Bronze models were made before the war by Rudier. From 1953 on they were stored at the Susse foundry, which carried out production from them at the request of the artist.
Between 1954 and 1962, depending on the models, Alberto Giacometti entrusted the edition in bronze of some of his objects to his brother Diego, from the original models. Diego Giacometti carried on this activity after Alberto’s death, with the agreement of the artist’s widow, until his own death in 1985. From 1982 onward, Diego applied his monogram on these editions. It should be noted that this does not make Diego Giacometti the co-author of these objects, but simply their producer.
Many models of decorative art objects by Alberto are fraudulently attributed to Diego Giacometti alone or to him and Alberto Giacometti. This erroneous double attribution is often used to disguise forgeries.