A pair of rare bronze buttons designed by Alberto Giacometti in 1938 for fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli will be auctioned at Bonhams on December 16, each estimated at £5,000–£8,000. Titled "Femme aux Bras Levés," the buttons were used on garments including a coat worn by Marlene Dietrich, now in the German Cinema Museum in Berlin. Only two other examples exist, held by the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and Le Comité Giacometti. The sale also features a rare Émile Gallé vase, works by Lucie Rie, and a Tiffany Studios chandelier.
This auction matters because it highlights the intersection of fine art and fashion through Giacometti's collaboration with Schiaparelli, a Surrealist partnership that produced wearable art objects. The buttons' rarity and celebrity provenance underscore the growing market for designer-commissioned art pieces. Additionally, the concurrent sales of Tiffany works at major auction houses reflect sustained collector interest in decorative arts, following the record $12.4 million Danner Memorial Window sale.