MEMORABILIA - Aste Bolaffi
Transcription
MEMORABILIA - Aste Bolaffi
ASTE BOLAFFI MEMORABILIA Torino, 2 dicembre 2015 Salvatore Quasimodo Premio Nobel 1959 Nobel Prize A 2 ASTE BOLAFFI MEMORABILIA Torino, 2 dicembre 2015 Salvatore Quasimodo Premio Nobel 1959 Nobel Prize Asta - Auction Sala Bolaffi, via Cavour 17, Torino Mercoledì 2 dicembre 2015 Ore 16.30 – lotto 401 Wednesday, 2 December 2015 4.30 pm – lot 401 Esposizione - Viewing Presso le sale di via Cavour 17 a Torino Da lunedì 30 novembre a mercoledì 2 dicembre 2015 Orario 9.00/13.00 – 14.00/19.00 From Monday, 30 November, to Wednesday, 2 December 2015 9.00 am/1.00 pm – 2.00 pm/7.00 pm Curatori dell’asta - Auction specialists Cristiano Collari Gabriele Tonello via Cavour, 17 - Torino tel. +39.011.55.76.339/358 - fax. +39.011.56.20.456 www.astebolaffi.it - aste@bolaffi.it 1 2 3 4 Il Premio Nobel, un simbolo di immortalità culturale The Nobel Prize, a symbol of cultural immortality In an auction house’s business not always the priciest items are the most important ones, and not always the rarest ones are the most battled either. But almost always the unique items are the ones to leave an indelible mark. Thus I am honored to state that our maison was entrusted to sell something, very few samples of which exist worldwide: up to now, only sixteen of them appeared on the market, and the one that we got to auction off is the first earned by an Italian. I am talking about the highest award of the world, the most sought after: the Nobel Prize. What that we have the privilege to put up for sale is the precious medal that in 1959, for its extraordinary merits in literature, was awarded to the poet Salvatore Quasimodo. A one of a kind journey, to which Aste Bolaffi devotes this monography, which goes over again the milestones of this great Italian literary man, traces the history of how he got this award and demonstrates not only the uniqueness of this prize, but also the great value of the documents that come along with it. After more than half a century since the delivery of this award, the Quasimodo family has offered us the chance to honor this great man for a second time. Whoever will buy his Nobel prize, beyond acquiring a piece of literature history of the nineteenth century, will own an utter symbol of cultural immortality. Nell’attività di una casa d’aste non sempre gli oggetti più cari sono i più importanti, e non sempre i più rari sono i più combattuti. Ma sono quasi sempre gli oggetti unici quelli che lasciano un segno indelebile. Sono quindi onorato di poter dichiarare che alla nostra maison è stato affidato un oggetto di cui esistono pochissimi esemplari al mondo: finora ne sono confluiti sul mercato solo sedici, e quello che ci è stato affidato è il primo vinto da un italiano. Mi riferisco al massimo riconoscimento mondiale, il più ambito: il Premio Nobel. Quella che noi abbiamo il privilegio di proporre è la preziosa medaglia di cui è stato insignito, per i suoi straordinari meriti letterari, il poeta Salvatore Quasimodo nel 1959. Una storia unica, a cui le Aste Bolaffi dedicano questa monografia, che ripercorre le gesta del grande letterato italiano, ricostruisce la storia di come si giunse al riconoscimento e dimostra non solo l’unicità del premio, ma anche il grande valore dei documenti che la corredano. A oltre mezzo secolo dalla consegna del riconoscimento, la famiglia Quasimodo ci ha offerto la possibilità di rendere onore a questo grande uomo per una seconda volta. Chi acquisirà il suo Nobel, oltre ad aggiudicarsi un tassello della storia della letteratura del Novecento, si assicurerà un simbolo assoluto di immortalità culturale. Giulio Filippo Bolaffi Presidente e Amministratore delegato Chairman and C.E.O. Aste Bolaffi 5 6 Salvatore Quasimodo Premio Nobel 1959 Nobel Prize Lotto 401 Medaglia Premio Nobel 1959: opus Erik Lindberg, oro 23 carati, diametro mm. 66, peso gr. 202; diritto: busto di Alfred Nobel a sinistra; rovescio: allegoria della musa Tersicore stante a destra nell’atto di suonare la lyra a un giovane uomo parzialmente nudo seduto a sinistra Cofanetto: ufficiale e decorato in pelle marrone Laurea: pergamena con iscrizione calligrafiche in svedese e scene pittoriche Foto: ritratto ufficiale di Salvatore Quasimodo Filmato: registrazione della cerimonia della consegna del premio Nobel del 1959 su Dvd Base d’asta: e 50.000 Stima: e 100.000/150.000 Provenienza: Famiglia Quasimodo Lot 401 Nobel Prize Medal 1959: designed by Erik Lindberg, 23 carat gold, 66 mm. in diameter, 202 g.; obverse: bust of Alfred Nobel facing left; reverse: draped Muse Tersicore standing right playing lyre to partially nude laureate young man seated left. Case: original and decorated in maroon morocco Diploma: in vellum leaves with calligraphic inscriptions in Swedish and pictorial scenes Photo: Salvatore Quasimodo original vintage portrait Video: 1959 Nobel Awards Ceremony footage on DVD Starting Price: e 50.000 Estimate: e 100.000/150.000 Provenance: Quasimodo Family 7 8 The obverse of the medal with the portrait of Alfred Nobel facing left shows him in the apparel typical of his time and social class, with his name (first name slightly abbreviated) on the left, and date of birth and death in Roman numerals on the right. At the bottom left, in small letters engraved practically on the edge of the medal, the name of the engraver appears with the date of completion of the artistic work, 1902. The reverse of the medal bears the design specific to the Nobel Prize for Literature, depicting a seminude youth seated on the left, crowned with a laurel wreath, a mantle softly draped on his right leg, and a girl standing before him, her hair gathered in a wreath of flowers, holding a lyre in her hand: typical attributes of the Muse Terpsichore; the Muse accompanies her song with the sound of the lyre and the boy writes down the words, while gazing at her in ecstasy; completing the scene are a laurel tree on the right and the sunrise over a hilly landscape on the left. A plaque centered at the bottom bears the name of the winner and the year of the award, in this case S. QUASIMODO and MCMLIX, on two lines, with the words ACAD SUEC, abbreviation of “Academia Suecica”, the Latin name of the Swedish Academy (Svenska Akademien), the institution to which the Foundation, according to the terms of Alfred Nobel’s will, assigns the task of selecting the winners for Literature. In addition to the name of the engraver in very small characters on two lines at the bottom left, the rim of the back bears a circular legend with the text: INVENTAS VITAM IUVAT EXCOLUISSE PER ARTES. This is taken from verse 663 Book VI of the Aeneid and translates loosely as “those who bettered life on earth with their artistic inventions”. The medal lies in a simple but elegant square case measuring 137 mm in brown leather: the name of the award winner is impressed in gold on the lid, accompanied by a linear gold decoration along the border, interrupted by stylized lilies at the corners. The inside of the case, lined in pale yellow velvet, is hollow at the center to hold the medal, and richly decorated around the edges with a floral pattern in gold, both on the base and inside the lid. La Medaglia The Medal Il diritto della medaglia raffigura il busto di Alfred Nobel rivolto a sinistra con l’abbigliamento tipico della sua epoca e del ceto sociale al quale apparteneva; accompagnano la raffigurazione il nome (leggermente abbreviato) e il cognome sulla sinistra, le date di nascita e di morte, espresse in numeri romani, sulla destra. In basso verso sinistra, in piccole lettere incise praticamente sul bordo della medaglia, compare il nome dell’incisore e la data 1902, quella di completamento dell’opera artistica. Il rovescio della medaglia è invece quello previsto per i Premi Nobel per la Letteratura, nel quale sono presenti due figure: un giovinetto seminudo, seduto verso sinistra con la testa laureata e un mantello morbidamente cadente dalla gamba destra, e una fanciulla stante di fronte a lui, con i capelli raccolti da una ghirlanda di fiori e con la lyra in mano, attributi tipici della Musa Tersicore; la Musa accompagna il suo canto con il suono della lyra e il fanciullo ne trascrive il contenuto volgendole uno sguardo estatico; completano la scena un arbusto di alloro sulla destra e il sorgere di un sole dardeggiante su un paesaggio collinare sulla sinistra. Al centro in basso compare una targa che riporta in due righe il nome del premiato e l’anno del conferimento, nel caso specifico S. QUASIMODO e MCMLIX, accompagnata ai lati dalla scritta ACAD SUEC, abbreviazione di “Academia Suecica”, denominazione latina della “Svenska Akademien”, l’Accademia di Svezia, istituzione alla quale la Fondazione, per precisa disposizione testamentaria dello stesso Alfred Nobel, assegna il compito di individuare i premiati per la Letteratura. Oltre al nome dell’incisore in caratteri molto piccoli, che compare a sinistra in basso in due righe, la parte epigrafica del rovescio comprende infine una leggenda circolare che recita: INVENTAS VITAM IUVAT EXCOLUISSE PER ARTES. Essa è tratta dal verso 663 Libro VI dell’Eneide e può essere tradotta come “coloro che inciviliscono la vita con le invenzioni artistiche”. La medaglia è contenuta in un astuccio quadrato di mm. 137 in pelle marrone, tanto elegante quanto semplice: sul coperchio compare impresso in oro al centro il nome del premiato, accompagnato da un fregio lineare in oro lungo il bordo, interrotto da gigli stilizzati agli angoli. L’interno dell’astuccio, in velluto giallo pallido con al centro l’incavo rotondo destinato ad ospitare la medaglia, è riccamente decorato ai bordi con un fregio floreale continuo in oro, sia sulla base fissa, sia sul coperchio. 9 10 La Laurea The Diploma La medaglia del Nobel è accompagnata dalla Laurea, due fogli manoscritti miniati su pergamena (cm. 24x35) entro contenitore in marocchino blu con decorazioni di ferri dorati e il monogramma SQ al centro dei piatti. Il primo foglio contiene una miniatura raffigurante la motivazione ufficiale del premio, ovvero il “fuoco classico” affiancato dalle personificazioni della poesia lirica e tragica con il testo in caratteri blu e oro: Svenska Akademien har vid sammanträde den 22 oktober 1959 i överensstämmelse med förenskrifterna i det av Alfred Nobel den 27 november 1895 upprättade testamente beslutat att tilldela. La frase continua negli stessi caratteri sul secondo foglio: Salvatore Quasimodo 1959 ars Nobelpris I Litteratur för hans lyriska diktning, som med klassisk eld uttrycker samtidens tragiska livskänsla. Infine la data, Stockholm den 10 december 1959. La miniatura in alto di questo secondo foglio raffigura l’ultima terzina “Gazzelle alle fonti bevevano, vento a frugare ginepri e rami ad alzare le stelle” di una nota poesia di Quasimodo intitolata “I morti”. La traduzione della frase svedese in italiano è “L’Accademia svedese, secondo il mandato testamentario di Alfred Nobel del 27 novembre 1895, nella riunione del 22 ottobre 1959 ha deciso di assegnare a Salvatore Quasimodo il Nobel per la Letteratura 1959 per la sua poesia lirica, che con ardente classicità esprime la tragica esperienza della vita contemporanea”. The Nobel medal is accompanied by the Laurea, on two calligraphed and illuminated sheets of parchment (measuring 24x35 cm) in a blue Morocco binding decorated with gilded irons and the monogram SQ at the center of the cover. The first page contains an illumination depicting the official motivation of the prize, the “classic fire” flanked by the personification of tragic and lyric poetry, with the text in blue and gold calligraphy: Svenska Akademien har vid sammanträde den 22 oktober 1959 i överensstämmelse med förenskrifterna i det av Alfred Nobel den 27 november 1895 upprättade testamente beslutat att tilldela. The writing continues on the second page, in the same calligraphy: Salvatore Quasimodo 1959 ars Nobelpris I Litteratur för hans lyriska diktning, som med klassisk eld uttrycker samtidens tragiska livskänsla. At the end, the date appears, Stockholm den 10 december 1959. The illumination at the top of the second page interprets the last tercet “Gazelles drink at the springs, the breeze sighs through the junipers and boughs at the rising of the stars” from a famous poem by Quasimodo entitled “I morti”. The translation of the motivation into English is as follows: “The Swedish Academy, in accordance with the wishes of Alfred Nobel expressed in his will dated 27 November 1895, decided at its meeting of 22 October 1959 to award the 1959 Nobel Prize for Literature to Salvatore Quasimodo for his lyrical poetry which, with classical fire expresses the tragic experience of life in our times”. 11 Il Ritratto The Portrait Il ritratto del poeta è uno scatto della fotografa Anna Riwkin, esule russa che si dedicò alla fotografia dopo una breve carriera nella danza. La Riwkin è stata vicina al movimento Surrealista e solo dopo la Seconda Guerra mondiale ha lavorato definitivamente come fotogiornalista. Scattata nello studio di Stoccolma dell’artista venne utilizzata come ritratto ufficiale dall’Accademia di Svezia. Le misure della fotografia sono mm 170 x 225. 12 This snapshot of the poet is by Anna Riwkin, a russian exile who consecrated herself to photography after a brief ballet carrer. Riwkin was close to the Surrealist stream and only after World War II finally ended up working as photojournalist. Shot at the artist’s Stockholm atelier, the photograph became to be the official portrait of the Sweden Academy. Measures of the picture: 170 x 225 millimeters (6,70 x 8,86 inches). Il Video della Cerimonia The Award Ceremony Footage The last element included in the lot is the video of the 1959 Nobel Prize award ceremony to Quasimodo, excerpted from the original footage by the Sweden Radio Television. L’ultimo elemento che compone il lotto è il video del 1959, della cerimonia di consegna del Premio Nobel a Quasimodo tratto dalle riprese originali dell’epoca della Radio Televisione Svedese. QR Code per visualizzare il video QR Code to view the footage 13 Salvatore Quasimodo. La vita Salvatore Quasimodo. Biography Nato a Modica il 20 agosto 1901, trascorse la sua infanzia in vari paesi della Sicilia al seguito del padre che lavorava nelle Ferrovie e venne avviato agli studi tecnici che concluse a Messina nel 1919. Da quell’anno fino al 1926 visse a Roma dove avrebbe voluto frequentare la facoltà di agraria, ma le difficoltà economiche e gli interessi per le lingue latina e greca lo dissuasero presto da questa carriera. Nel 1926 il padre gli trovò un impiego al Genio Civile che lo portò a lavorare in giro per l’Italia, da Reggio Calabria, a Imperia, a Cagliari e poi a Firenze. Qui fu introdotto da suo cognato Elio Vittorini nell’ambiente letterario cittadino, conobbe Eugenio Montale, Arturo Loria e Alessandro Bonsanti, e cominciò le sue prime esperienze poetiche mature. Nel 1930 pubblicò la sua prima raccolta di versi, Acque e Terre, e nel 1932 Oboe Sommerso. Si trasferì in seguito a Milano, dove frequentava il Cova e Le Tre Marie con artisti come Guttuso, Mucchi e Birolli, e poi a Sondrio dove fu mandato “in esilio” in quanto il suo superiore lo sorprese a scrivere poesie in orario di ufficio. Nel 1938 lasciò il Genio Civile per dedicarsi a tempo pieno alla letteratura, iniziando a lavorare per Cesare Zavattini, collaborando con “Letteratura”, scrivendo didascalie per la rivista “Tempo”, e pubblicando una raccolta antologica intitolata Poesie. La sua traduzione dei Lirici Greci ottenne tali consensi che venne nominato professore per “chiara fama” e fu istituita apposta per lui la cattedra di Letteratura italiana presso il Conservatorio di musica Giuseppe Verdi di Milano, incarico che mantenne fino agli inizi del 1968. Lo scoppio del secondo conflitto mondiale portò un profondo sconvolgimento nel poeta che maturò l’idea che la poesia dovesse uscire dalla sfera del privato per interessarsi alle problematiche sociali e civili, intenta a “rifare l’uomo” abbruttito dagli orrori della guerra. Questo impegno si riscontra nelle sue produzioni poetiche come Giorno dopo giorno (1947), La vita non è sogno (1949), La terra impareggiabile (1958). Nel 1959 gli fu attribuito il premio Nobel per la letteratura. Negli ultimi anni di vita intraprese molti viaggi in Europa e fuori dall’Europa che gli suggerirono diverse composizioni di Dare e avere (1966), la sua ultima raccolta e testamento spirituale. Nel giugno del 1968 venne colpito da un ictus ad Amalfi, dove presiedeva la giuria di un premio letterario e morì nel tragitto in taxi verso l’ospedale di Napoli. La sua salma è inumata nel Famedio del Cimitero Monumentale di Milano. 14 Born in Modica, Sicily, on 20 August 1901, he spent his childhood with his family in Sicily, moving from one town to another as his father worked for the nation railroads. He graduated from technical high school in Messina in 1919 and from then until 1926 lived in Rome, where he planned to attend the university and study agronomy, but was unable to do so for financial needs and his passionate interest in Latin and Greek literature. In 1926 his father got him a position with the Italian government’s civil engineering corps, which sent him all over Italy, from Reggio Calabria in the south, to Imperia in the north, from Cagliari to Florence. It was while he was stationed in Florence that his brother-inlaw Elio Vittorini introduced him to the city’s literary environment, where he met Eugenio Montale, Arturo Loria, and Alessandro Bonsanti, and he made his early forays into mature poetry. In 1930 he published his first collection of verses, Acque e Terre (Waters and Lands), and in 1932 Oboe Sommerso (Sunken Oboe). He later moved to Milan, where he attended the literary cafés, especially Il Cova and Le Tre Marie, meeting artists like Guttuso, Mucchi and Birolli, and soon after found himself “exiled” to Sondrio, since his supervisor caught him writing poetry during office hours. In 1938 he left his government job to devote himself to literature full time, working for Cesare Zavattini on the staff of “Letteratura”, writing captions for the review “Tempo”, and editing an anthology entitled Poesie (Poems). His translation of Greek lyrics received such high praise that he was appointed professor “by right of his clear fame” and the Chair of Italian Literature was created just for him at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory of Music in Milan, a position which he held until early in 1968. The outbreak of World War II deeply troubled the poet who felt that poetry should abandon its private sphere and commit itself to social and civil problems so as to “recreate the human soul” brutalized by the horrors of the war. This sentiment can be seen in such poetic productions as Giorno dopo giorno (1947) (“Day after Day”), La vita non è sogno (1949) (“Life Is Not a Dream”), La terra impareggiabile (1958) (“The Incomparable Earth”). In 1959 he was awarded the Nobel prize for literature. In the last years of his life he traveled a great deal in and outside Europe, and these travels suggested many of his compositions in Dare e avere (1966) (“To Give and To Have”), his last collection and spiritual testament. In June 1968 he suffered a stroke at Amalfi, where he was chairing the jury of a literary prize, and died while being driven by taxi to the hospital in Naples. He is buried in the Famedio (the Temple of Fame) at the Monumental Cemetery of Milan. 15 16 As he often said himself, his love for poetry started early in life, and he published a first collection of youthful lyrics in the review “Umanitas” in Bari when he was only 15. Educated in the taste of hermetic poetry, between Ungaretti and Montale, Quasimodo found the expression of his intense sensuality in visions steeped in metamorphosis and mythology. In his literary works he revealed his thoughtful, profoundly human character, but at the same time was able, through a process of self-discovery, renewal and study, to develop original solutions on both the intellectual and artistic plane. In his early publications, Acque e Terre (1930) (“Waters and Lands”) and Ed è subito sera (1942) (“Suddenly It’s Evening) Quasimodo explored themes connected with solitude, the uprooting of man, and the loss of the innocence of childhood, with its quality of sweetness and sanity never again attainable. Later, exploring the awareness of pain, his evocations touch more closely on historic and social conditions familiar to him, always in a lyric vein but more articulate and effusive. His obsession with death perceived as an event not far in the future was linked to his worsening health. This led above all to a detachment from the ordinary things and contingent occasions that may have inspired his earlier lyrics. His assiduous work as a translator of Greek and Latin poets contributed to the gradual freedom of his language from its strict initial analogism. He also edited several translations of William Shakespeare and compiled an anthology of love poems entitled Lirica d’amore italiana, dalle origini ai nostri giorni (1957) (“Italian Love Lyrics, from the Origins to the Present”) and another entitled Poesia italiana del dopoguerra (1958) (“Italian Poetry in the Postwar Period”). In additional to these works, he wrote praiseworthy introductions to the works of several of his contemporaries, and even to his own works, in the volumes of the Contemporary Italian Poets series that he directed. Other publications include Scritti sul teatro (1961) (“Essays on the Theater”), Il poeta e il politico e altri saggi (1967) (“The Poet and the Politician, and Other Essays”, Poesie e discorsi sulla poesia (1971) (“Poetry and Lectures on Poetry”). Salvatore Quasimodo was one of the great interpreters of the condition of modern man, and performed a significant function in 20th century literature, for which he received many honors, culminating in 1959 with the Nobel Prize for Literature. L’opera Works Come egli stesso ha spesso dichiarato, l’amore per la poesia arrivò molto presto, tanto che un primo gruppo di sue liriche giovanili apparve sulla rivista “Umanitas” di Bari quando egli aveva solo 15 anni. Formatosi nel gusto della poesia ermetica fra Ungaretti e Montale, Quasimodo trovò l’espressione della sua intensa sensualità in visioni intrise di metamorfosi e di mitologia. Nella sua opera letteraria egli rivelò il suo carattere pensoso e profondamente umano e nello stesso tempo giunse, attraverso un percorso ricco di svolte e di approfondimenti, a soluzioni originali sia sul piano intellettuale che artistico. Nelle prime raccolte Acque e terre (1930) e Ed è subito sera (1942) Quasimodo sviluppò i temi connessi con la solitudine, con lo sradicamento dell’uomo, e la perdita dell’innocenza infantile, ossia d’una dimensione di bontà e di sanità non più raggiungibile. Successivamente, con l’approfondirsi della coscienza del dolore, le evocazioni si fanno più aderenti alla realtà storica e sociale, con modi sempre elegiaci ma più articolati ed effusi. L’ossessione della morte è un evento avvertito come non lontano nel tempo per il peggiorare delle sue condizioni fisiche. Ne deriva soprattutto un distacco dal quotidiano e dalle occasioni contingenti che possono aver ispirato le singole liriche. L’assidua opera di traduttore dei poeti greci e latini contribuì al graduale affrancarsi del suo linguaggio dallo stretto analogismo iniziale. Curò anche alcune traduzioni da William Shakespeare e compilò un’antologia della Lirica d’amore italiana, dalle origini ai nostri giorni (1957) e un’altra della Poesia italiana del dopoguerra (1958). Meritevoli inoltre diverse introduzioni dedicate ai lavori e alle opere di artisti suoi contemporanei, nonché quelle ai volumi della collana Poeti italiani contemporanei da lui stesso diretta. Da ricordare anche i volumi Scritti sul teatro (1961), Il poeta e il politico e altri saggi (1967), Poesie e discorsi sulla poesia (1971). Salvatore Quasimodo figura tra i maggiori interpreti della condizione dell’uomo moderno e svolse una funzione significativa nella letteratura del Novecento, come dimostrano i numerosi riconoscimenti a lui tributati dalla cultura internazionale, che culminarono nel 1959 con l’assegnazione del premio Nobel per la letteratura. 17 Quasimodo vincitore del Premio Nobel Quasimodo Nobel Award winner Secondo siciliano dopo Pirandello, Salvatore Quasimodo ricevette la notizia del conferimento del premio Nobel a Milano dove abitava ormai da anni in Corso Garibaldi. Secondo le cronache, quel giorno il poeta decise di andare comunque al Conservatorio dove insegnava, ma possiamo immaginare l’emozione di sentire la motivazione del Premio: “Per la sua poesia lirica, che con il fuoco classico esprime la tragica esperienza della vita nei nostri tempi”. Ed è fuor di dubbio che la poesia sia stata la fiamma che ha riscaldato il suo cuore per tutta la vita! La candidatura di Quasimodo al Nobel era stata promossa da due grandi critici letterari italiani, Carlo Bo e Francesco Flora, con l’appoggio di uno dei più eminenti membri dell’Accademia di Svezia, Anders Österling, estimatore della letteratura italiana e traduttore in svedese delle liriche di Quasimodo e Montale. Quando arrivò la notizia del conferimento, parte dell’ambiente letterario italiano levò note polemiche alle quali Quasimodo rispose che, a dispetto della politica e della filosofia che uccidono la poesia, “rifare l’uomo, questo è l’impegno” del poeta, un impegno anche politico. Nell’accettare il Nobel Quasimodo dichiarò alla stampa che il premio andava “al di là del valore letterario, per una ragione semplice, perché sono stato io solo con tutta la mia opera a vincere dei poeti e degli scrittori importanti in tutto il mondo”. Questa sua frase si riferisce in particolare ad una querelle letteraria che all’epoca vide opposte fazioni che caldeggiavano Ungaretti e Quasimodo per il premio. Ma il passato fascista di Giuseppe Ungaretti (Mussolini scrisse anche una prefazione a Il porto sepolto) pesò nella decisione degli svedesi e Quasimodo venne considerato il più grande poeta italiano del ‘900. Accettando il Nobel Quasimodo pronunciò il celebre discorso intitolato Il poeta e il politico, pubblicato l’anno successivo da Schwarz. “Il poeta è la summa delle diverse “esperienze” dell’uomo del suo tempo, ha un linguaggio che non è più quello delle avanguardie, ma concreto nel senso dei classici […] Il poeta è solo: il muro di odio si alza intorno a lui con le pietre lanciate dalle compagnie di ventura letterarie. Da questo muro il poeta considera il mondo, e senza andare per le piazze come gli aedi o nel mondo “mondano” come i letterati, proprio da quella torre d’avorio, cosi cara ai seviziatori dell’anima romantica, arriva in mezzo al popolo, non solo nei desideri del suo sentimento, ma anche nei suoi gelosi pensieri politici”. 18 The second Sicilian to win the award after Pirandello, Salvatore Quasimodo had been living for many years in Milan when he received the news at his home in Corso Garibaldi. According to the reports, the poet decided to go as usual to the Conservatory where he taught, though one can imagine how thrilling it must have been for him to hear the motivation: “For his lyric poetry that, with the classical fire, expresses the tragic experience of life in our times”. And there can be no doubt that poetry was the flame that warmed his heart all his life! Quasimodo nomination as a candidate for the Nobel Prize was promoted by two great Italian literary critics, Carlo Bo and Francesco Flora, with the support of one of the most eminent members of the Swedish Academy, Anders Österling, an admirer of Italian literature who had translated the lyrics of Quasimodo and Montale into Swedish. When the news of his award was received, part of the Italian literary establishment objected, to which Quasimodo replied that, despite the politics and philosophy that tend to destroy poetry, “recreating humankind, that is the commitment” of the poet, a commitment that is also political. In accepting the Nobel, Quasimodo told the press that the prize went “far beyond literary value, for a simple reason, because I alone with all my works, have won it, out of all the important poets and writers in the world”. These words refer in particular to a literary dispute that had led at the time to the formation of two opposing factions, one in favor of Ungaretti and the other of Quasimodo for the prize. But the fascist past of Giuseppe Ungaretti (Mussolini even wrote a preface to Il porto sepolto -”The Buried Port”) weighed in the decision of the Swedes, and Quasimodo was considered the greatest Italian poet of the 20th century. In accepting the Nobel Prize, Quasimodo gave the celebrated speech entitled Il poeta e il politico (“The Poet and the Politician”), published a year later by Schwarz. “The poet is the sum total of the diverse “experiences” of the man of his times. His language is no longer that of the avant-garde, but is rather concrete in the classical sense. [...] The poet is alone. Around him rises a wall of hate built with the stones cast by literary mercenaries. The poet contemplates the world from the top of this wall, without ever descending either into the public places, like the wandering bards, or into the sophisticated circles, like the men of letters. From this very ivory tower, so dear to the corruptors of the romantic soul, he enters into the people’s midst, not only into their emotional needs, but even into their jealous political thoughts”. 19 20 21 22 Nobel, il massimo riconoscimento mondiale Nobel, the highest award of the world Secondo un rituale che si ripete uguale dal 1901, dalla seconda settimana di ottobre, con la cadenza di uno al giorno, vengono annunciati i vincitori dei riconoscimenti assegnati dall’Accademia di Svezia, i Premi Nobel. In quella prima edizione furono assegnati i premi per la pace, la letteratura, la chimica, la medicina e la fisica: il riconoscimento per l’economia arrivò nel 1969. Il Nobel è considerata l’onorificenza più prestigiosa del mondo, assegnata a persone che si sono distinte per aver apportato fondamentali benefici all’umanità. Fu istituito secondo le ultime volontà di Alfred Nobel, industriale svedese e inventore della dinamite. Da allora sono stati consegnati 573 Premi Nobel (di cui 49 a donne): 109 per la Fisica, 108 per la Letteratura, 107 per la Chimica, 106 per la Medicina, 96 per la Pace e 47 per l’Economia. Di questi, venti sono stati attribuiti a italiani: da Giosuè Carducci a Dario Fo, da Grazia Deledda a Eugenio Montale, da Rita Levi-Montalcini e Renato Dulbecco. Il riconoscimento consiste in una medaglia, un diploma e una somma di denaro che varia a seconda degli interessi maturati dal fondo gestito dalla Nobel Foundation: oggi si aggira sui dieci milioni di corone svedesi, pari a poco più di un milione di euro per ciascuna delle sei categorie. According to a ritual, identical since 1901, starting in the second week in October, at the rate of one a day, the winners of each of the Nobel Prizes are announced by the Swedish Academy. In that first edition prizes were awarded for peace, literature, chemistry, medicine and physics: the prize for economics was not established until 1969. The Nobel Prize is considered the most prestigious award in the world, assigned to individuals who have distinguished themselves for having conferred fundamental benefits to humankind. The award was established according to the will of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish industrialist who invented dynamite. Since then 573 Nobel Prizes have been awarded (49 to women): 109 for Physics, 108 for Literature, 107 for Chemistry, 106 for Medicine, 96 for Peace, 47 for Economics. Of these, Italians have won twenty: from Giosuè Carducci to Dario Fo, from Grazia Deledda to Eugenio Montale, from Rita Levi-Montalcini to Renato Dulbecco. The award consists of a medal, a diploma and a sum of money that varies depending on the interest earned by the fund managed by the Nobel Foundation: at the present time this is about ten million Swedish crowns, or about one million euro for each of the six categories. 23 Premi Nobel Italiani Italian Nobel Prize Giulio Natta, 1963 Premio Nobel per la chimica Chemistry Nobel Prize Franco Modigliani, 1985 Premio Nobel per l’economia Economy Nobel Prize Guglielmo Marconi, 1909 Enrico Fermi, 1938 Emilio Segrè, 1959 Carlo Rubbia, 1984 Riccardo Giacconi, 2002 Premio Nobel per la fisica Physics Nobel Prize Giosuè Carducci, 1906 Grazia Deledda, 1926 Luigi Pirandello, 1934 Salvatore Quasimodo, 1959 Eugenio Montale, 1975 Dario Fo, 1997 Premio Nobel per la letteratura Literature Nobel Prize Camillo Golgi, 1906 Daniel Bovet, 1957 Salvatore Luria, 1969 Renato Dulbecco, 1975 Rita Levi-Montalcini, 1986 Mario Capecchi, 2007 Premio Nobel per la fisiologia e la medicina Physiology and Medicine Nobel Prize Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, 1907 Premio Nobel per la pace Peace Nobel Prize 24 Aggiudicazioni Medaglie Premi Nobel Nobel Prize Medals recorded sales Francis Peyton Rous Medicina 1966 Medicine 4.11.2015, Heritage $ 380.000 Alan Lloyd Hodgkin Medicina 1963 Medicine 3.11.2015, Nate D Sanders Auctions $ 800.000 Fisica 1934 Physics 21.9.2015, Bonhams $ 545.000 Medicina 1953 Medicine 1.8.2015, Sotheby’s £ 275,000 Pace 1909 Peace 15.7.2015, Christie’s $ 661,000 Fisica 1988 Physics 29.5.2015, Nate D Sanders Auctions $ 765.000 Heinrich Wieland Chimica 1927 Chemistry 30.4.2015, Nate D Sanders Auctions $ 400.000 Simon Kuznets Economia 1971 Economy 26.2.2015, Nate D Sanders Auctions $ 390.000 James D. Watson Medicina 1962 Medicine December 2014, Christie’s $ 4.760.000 Pace 1963 Peace March 2014, Stack’s Bowers Galleries $ 1.100.000 James Chadwick Fisica 1935 Physics 3.6.2014, Sotheby’s $ 329.000 William Faulkner Letteratura 1949 Literature 11.6.2013, Sotheby’s $ 425.000 (*) Medicina 1962 Medicine 11.4.2013, Heritage $ 2.270.000 Fisica 1975 Physics 13.11.2012, Bruun Rasmussen $ 43.000 Aristide Briand Pace 1926 Peace 29.3.2008, Hôtel des ventes des Salorges $ 13.650 William Randal Cremer Pace 1903 Peace 1985, Sotheby’s $ 17.000 George Minot Hans Krebs Auguste Beernaert Leon Lederman Carlos Saavedra Lamas Francis Crick Aage Niels Bohr (*) invenduto unsold 25 Terms and Conditions of Sale 1 – Introduction These general conditions regulate the sale at auction and/or private negotiations of the lots transferred to the Aste Bolaffi – Archaion s.r.l. auction house (hereinafter “Aste Bolaffi”). Lots put up for auction are the property of the consignors, who have guaranteed their complete availability and legitimate and legal provenance. Aste Bolaffi acts exclusively as a representative of the individual consignors, in its own name and on their behalf. The consignor guarantees the authenticity of each lot offered in the catalogue, without hidden defects unless otherwise stated in the catalogue and/or by the auctioneer. Any indication of the state of preservation of the lots is not to be considered binding. 2 – Images The copyright in all images, illustrations and written material produced by or for Aste Bolaffi relating to a lot or to a specific contents of this catalogue, is and shall remain at all times the property of Aste Bolaffi and shall not be used by the buyer, nor by anyone else, without Aste Bolaffi prior written consent. 3 – Participation in the saleroom Aste Bolaffi reserves the right to request information from the participants in the bidding as regards their identity and bank references, as well as the right to refuse undesirable elements entry to the saleroom. If the participant is acting in the name and on behalf of another physical or legal person, a valid power of attorney must be exhibited prior to the auction. 4 – Participation by correspondence, telephone link, online By signing and submitting the special forms, the participant agrees to participate in the auction referred to and undertakes to pay the purchase price hammered if his/her offer(s) should be successful. The participant also takes responsibility for ascertaining, after the auction, whether his/her offer has been successful, relieving Aste Bolaffi of any liability in that respect. Claims due to negligence or error in filling out written offers by mail will not be accepted. Aste Bolaffi has no liability toward those who participate in the auction by telephone link and/or online in case of failure to participate due to possible problems that may occur during or prior to the telephone and/or internet connection. 5 – Bids Lots are awarded to the highest bidder. Aste Bolaffi –reserves the right to cancel the award in case of possible contestations. No bids will be accepted for any lot below its starting price. No “without limit” bids, or “upon examination” bids or bids which combine two or more lots will be accepted. The starting price is the price indicated as the base price, unless different, higher offers have been received, in which case the starting price will be that of the increment subsequent to the next to last offer. (In case of identical commission bids, the first to arrive will receive precedence, and in any case these take precedence over equal offers made in the saleroom). The size of increments will be regulated at the auctioneer’s discretion. The minimum increment will be € 25. The auctioneer reserves the right to withdraw, add, group or divide lots, as well as the right to refuse a bid in the saleroom or a commission bid. 6 – Purchase price A commission in favor of Aste Bolaffi will be charged to the buyer, in addition to the hammer price, as follows: Numismatic and philatelic auctions: The Buyer shall pay a premium of 22% on the hammer price (the price at which a lot is knocked down) V.A.T. included. Memorabilia and decorations auctions: The Buyer shall pay a premium of 25% on the hammer price (the price at which a lot is knocked down) V.A.T. included. All other auctions: The Buyer shall pay the following premium on the hammer price: Lots hammered from € 10.00 to 50,000.00 25% Lots hammered from € 50,001.00 to 200,000.00 22% Lots hammered from € 200,001.00 20% For lots purchased online in any auction an additional commission of 1.5% will be applied. 7 – Lots with additional vat Lots with ± symbol are invoiced differently and have a different buyer’s premium on hammer price (for margin scheme lots see paragraph 6) Hammer price will be increased by: 1. Buyer’s premium of 18% 2. VAT on hammer price at the following rates: books4% stamps10% all other categories 22% 3. VAT payable at 22% on buyer’s premium VAT REFUNDSt Private clients residing outside Europe may obtain a refund of the VAT at the rate indicated in paragraph 7.2 on the hammer price by presenting an official document (customs form) that proves that the goods will leave the European Union within 90 days of delivery. Non-resident clients required to pay VAT, who reside in other EU countries or outside the EU, may request a refund of the VAT at the rate indicated in paragraph 7.2 on the hammer price, as well as of the VAT at 22% calculated on the auction commissions, by presenting an official document (CMR or customs form) proving that the goods will leave Italy or the European Union within 90 days of delivery. In case of shipment of the goods outside Italy by the auction house, the refundable VAT as detailed above will not be included in the invoice. 8 – Payment Upon sale of a lot, if present in the saleroom, the buyer shall pay the purchase price promptly to Aste Bolaffi on delivery of the lot. If bidding via telephone, written form, or online, the purchase price shall be paid within 7 days of receipt of the invoice. Payments may be made in cash, within the limits established by law, by certified and/or personal check or credit card. Payments will not be accepted from parties other than the buyer. Interest will be charged on delayed payments at the rate of 0.5% monthly, subject to variation, on all amounts not paid within the regular terms. Aste Bolaffi may grant possible extensions of payment terms on the basis of agreements which will have to be formalized, in any case, prior to the auction. If the buyer fails to make payment within thirty (30) days end of month payment term, the auction house shall be entitled to rescind the sale in accordance with the art. 1456 of the Civil Code by giving written prior notice to the purchaser, with reserve of any further right and action for compensation for any damages arising from non-fulfilment. Any amount paid by the purchaser as part of the total price prior to the cancellation of the sale will be applied by the auction house as a compensation in accordance to the art. 1526 of the Civil Code, with reserve of any further damages. 9 – Storage and Shipment Until the full price has been paid and until delivery, lots are held in storage on the premises of Aste Bolaffi and insured with adequate coverage at the expense of Aste Bolaffi. On request, after payment has been made, lots can be shipped by insured parcel post at the risk and expense of the buyer. The possible export duties are also for the account of the buyer. Any export requests will be made by the auction house on behalf of the buyer to the appropriate government offices. The buyer will be required to pay all costs on receipt of the invoice. About 8 weeks are generally necessary to obtain an export permit. 26 10 – Exportation of lots Custom duties and export costs are for the account of the buyer. Requests to issue certification of free circulation for export, in accordance with the legislative provisions in force on the subject, must be made to the appropriate government offices by the auction house on behalf of the buyer. The buyer is required to pay the expenses on receipt of the invoice. Approximately 10/12 weeks are necessary to obtain authorization for export. Lots imported according to the rules of Temporary Importation E are not covered by the relative provisions of Italian law concerning the cultural heritage. For this reason it will not be necessary to issue certification of free circulation. The lots cannot be withdrawn by the buyers, but will have to be shipped by the auction house. 11 – Condition reports The lots are sold “as is”. Catalogue descriptions as well as any other indication or illustration regarding the lots, are purely statements of opinion and are not to be relied upon as statements of warranty. Potential buyers are encouraged to inspect the lots in person or through a knowledgeable representative during the pre-auction viewing in order to assess their authenticity, preservation, provenance, quality and any defects. On request and for guidance only, Aste Bolaffi provides condition reports that can add more information to the catalogue descriptions. Rare books and autographs auction: The buyer shall not be entitled to dispute any damage to bindings, foxing, wormholes, trimmed pages or plates or any other defect affecting the integrity of the text and /or its illustration including: indexes of plates, blank pages, insertions, supplements and addictions subsequent to the date of publications of the work. No refund will be considered for books not described in the catalogue. Poster auction: • Condition A Poster in very fine condition. Colors are fresh; no paper loss. Some slight defect or tear but very marginal. A+: wonderful example of a poster rarely seen in such fine condition. A-: some slight dirt, fold, tear or other minor restoration. • Condition B Poster in good condition. Some slight paper loss, but not in the image or in any important area. If some restoration it is not immediately evident. Lines and colors good, paper may have yellowed. B+: poster in very good condition. B-: in fairly good condition. • Condition C Poster in fair condition. The light-staining may be more pronounced, restorations, folds or flaking are more readily visible, and possibly some minor paper loss occurs. The poster is otherwise intact, the image clear, and the colors still faithful to the artist’s intent. • Condition D Poster in bad condition. A large part of such poster may be missing, including some important image area; colors 12 - Catalogues Numismatic auction: Classifications refer to the following catalogues: Bol. (Bolaffi Catalogue of coins and banknotes – Kingdom of Sardinia, Kingdom of Italy, and Italian Republic), Bol. Vat. (Bolaffi catalogue of city of Vatican coins) Bab. (Babelon), Bartolotti, Biaggi, Bohering Calciati, Casolari, B.M.C. (British Museum Catalogue), Ciani, C.N.I. (Corpus Nummorum Italicorum), Cra. (Crapanzano/Giulianini), Cra. Vol. II (Crapanzano/Giulianini vol. II), Crawf. (Crawford), Coh. (Cohen), Crippa, Dav. (Davenport), Di Giulio, D.O.C. (Dumbarton Oaks Collection), Friedb. (Friedberg), Gad. (Gadoury), Galeotti, Gig. (Gigante), Gav. (Gavello 1996) Guadàn, Gulbenkian, Haeb. (Haeberlin) Heiss, Herzfelder, Jenkins e Lewis, Krause, Mesio, Müller, Mont. (Montenegro), Mont. Ve. (Montenegro Venezia), Muntoni, M.zu.A. (Miller zu Aicholds), Pag. (Pagani), Pozzi, Rav. (Ravegnani Morosini), R.I.C. (Roman Imperial Coinage), Rizzo, Seaby, Sears, Schl. (Schlumberger), Sim. Simonetti. Philatelic auction: Catalogue numbers and values indicated at the end of each description refer to the following catalogues: Bolaffi and Sassone for Italy and Italian Area: Yvert Tellier and Catalogo Unificato for Europe and Yvert Tellier and Stanley Gibbons for all other countries. Other references are specifically quoted. 13 – Cultural Heritage codes Any lots that may be subject to communication for the start of the procedure for the declaration of their cultural interest pursuant to article 14 and thereafter of Legislative Decree no. 42/2004, the grantors and buyers are required to comply with the relative provisions in force and, in that case, Aste Bolaffi at its exclusive discretion, may proceed with a temporary award of the lot. 14 – Resale royalties “Droit de Suite” Legal obligations concerning the “Droit de Suite” (D.lgs. 118 of 13/02/06) are accomplished by Aste Bolaffi 15 – Conditional sale The lots are sold by the auction house with conditional sale in accordance to art. 1523 of the Civil Code and therefore the buyer will not acquire title to the lots until the full payment of the purchase price. The risk of deterioration and of damage of the lots will pass to the buyer upon delivery of the lots. The delivery of the lots will only occur upon the full payment of the purchase price. 16 – Claims Aste Bolaffi will consider only those claims regarding disputes over authenticity of lots, the existence of serious flaws or concealed defects and/or the non-conformity of the lot purchased to that described in the auction catalogue and available for pre-auction viewing. In this connection, defects that the buyer should have been aware of at the time of purchase will not be considered defects of conformity as the buyer, having had the opportunity to view the lot in the catalogue or during its showing prior to sale, could not have failed to observe it making use of ordinary diligence. Possible claims should be sent by registered letter within 15 (fifteen) calendar days: (i) from the date of the delivery of the lot following the auction, in the case of purchases by persons present in the saleroom, including those represented by agents, commission agents or intermediaries; (ii) from the date of the receipt of the lot delivered by courier, in the case of purchases by offers via correspondence or by telephone or online; Claims are not accepted in any case: (a) pertaining to flaws or defects expressly described in the catalogue and easily discernable in photographs of the lot during the pre-auction viewing; (b) pertaining to multiple lots such as collections or accumulations of any kind; (c) pertaining to assorted lots of stamps or coins not described individually; (d) pertaining to lots explicitly described in the auction catalogue as “to be examined”; (e) pertaining to the state of conservation of lots, the evaluation of such state being subjective and sales subject to the clause “as seen and found acceptable”; (f) pertaining to flaws and defects attributable to the purchase’s actions subsequent to delivery of the lot. (g) After 60 days have passed from the auction date. Aste Bolaffi will respond in writing to the claim within 60 days of receipt. Aste Bolaffi will honor claims only when the lot is judged by two experts named by each party to be unauthentic, affected by serious flaws or hidden defects and/or not conforming to the description in the auction catalogue. In such cases the purchaser will be refunded only with the amount corresponding to the purchase and to the shipping cost. Any other refund or reimbursement is expressly excluded, except in case of fraud or serious negligence. BY SUBMITTING A PURCHASE ORDER OR BIDDING IN THE SALEROOM, THE BUYER FULLY ACCEPTS ALL THE CONDITIONS OF SALE DETAILED ABOVE. THE TURIN COURT shall have exclusive JURISDICTION FOR ANY DISPUTE. 27 Bolaffi S.p.a. Presidente / Chairman Alberto Bolaffi Amministratore Delegato / C.E.O. Giulio Filippo Bolaffi Consiglieri / Directors Lorenzo Dellavalle Emanuele Chieli Daniel Winteler archaion S.r.l. Consiglio di amministrazione / Board of Directors Presidente e Amministratore Delegato Chairman and C.E.O. Giulio Filippo Bolaffi Amministratore Delegato e Direttore Generale C.E.O. and G.M. Maurizio Piumatti Consigliere / Director Fabrizio Prete Esperti / Specialists Filatelia / Philately Matteo Armandi marmandi@bolaffi.it Pier Luigi Bruno pbruno@bolaffi.it Giovanna Morando aste@bolaffi.it Alberto Ponti aponti@bolaffi.it Numismatica e cartamoneta / Coins and banknotes Carlo Barzan cbarzan@bolaffi.it Gabriele Tonello gtonello@bolaffi.it Alberto Pettinaroli apettinaroli@bolaffi.it Manifesti / Posters Alberto Ponti aponti@bolaffi.it Armando Giuffrida (consulente esterno / independent consultant) posters@bolaffi.it Libri rari e manoscritti / Books and manuscripts Cristiano Collari ccollari@bolaffi.it Annette Pozzo apozzo@bolaffi.it Arredi, dipinti antichi e oggetti d’arte Furniture, paintings and works of art Gianfranco Fina gfina@bolaffi.it Maria Ludovica Vertova mlvertova@bolaffi.it COLOPHON Vini rari e pregiati / Fine and rare wines Luisa Bianconi lbianconi@bolaffi.it Fotografia / Photography Silvia Berselli sberselli@bolaffi.it Gioielli / Jewellery Maria Carla Manenti mc manenti@bolaffi.it Marketing Chiara Pogliano cpogliano@bolaffi.it Amministrazione / Administration Maria Luisa Caliendo mcaliendo@bolaffi.it Erika Papandrea epapandrea@bolaffi.it Servizio clienti / Client services Ezio Chiantello echiantello@bolaffi.it Elisabetta Deaglio edeaglio@bolaffi.it Roberto Massa Micon rmassamicon@bolaffi.it Irene Toscana Itoscana@bolaffi.it 28 aste@bolaffi.it www.astebolaffi.it Archaion Società del gruppo Bolaffi via Cavour 17F 10123 Torino tel. +39 011-55.76.300 fax +39 011-56.20.456 email aste@bolaffi.it www.astebolaffi.it Come partecipare How to partecipate In sala: Sala Bolaffi, Via Cavour 17, Torino Corrispondenza: compilare e firmare l’apposito modulo che deve essere recapitato via posta, fax o email entro le 24 ore precedenti l’inizio dell’asta. Scarichi il modulo da www.astebolaffi.it Telefono: per poter usufruire di tale servizio è necessario compilare e firmare l’apposito modulo che deve essere recapitato via posta, fax o email entro le 24 ore precedenti l’inizio dell’asta. Scarichi il modulo da www.astebolaffi.it Internet: per partecipare live su internet è necessario registrarsi sul sito www.thesaleroom.com In the saleroom: Sala Bolaffi, Via Cavour 17, Turin, Italy Commission bid: to present a commission bid, you must fill out and sign the special form that must be delivered via postal service, fax or email within the 24 hours preceding the auction. Download the commission bid form from www.astebolaffi.it Phone bid: to use this service you must fill out and sign the specific form which must be received via postal service, fax or email within the 24 hours preceding the auction. Download the telephonic bidding request from www.astebolaffi.it Bid live on internet: to participate in the auction via internet it is necessary to register on the website www.thesaleroom.com Grafica / Art director: Samanta Martino Fotografie / Images: Famiglia Quasimodo, Federico Botta, Getty Images Stampa / Printing: Grafiche Zanini - Bologna, Italy 29 30