La Plaque Eiffel, a sculpture created out of cast-off pieces from the Eiffel Tower by French artist César Baldaccini, is to be auctioned by Artcurial at Monaco Auction Week next month.

Art and history all in one. That is the beauty of the 1989 César Baldaccini piece, La Plaque Eiffel, which was constructed using old stairs and beams from the Iron Lady herself.

This fantastic creation is going under the gavel on 18th July as part of Artcurial’s wider sales during Monaco Auction Week’s Monaco Sculptures event. It joins some 40 other works that will be showcased in the parks and gardens of the Principality before going up for sale.

The 3.5-metre-high bronzed totem was constructed the year of the Eiffel Tower’s 100th anniversary, making it a truly special piece of the past. Amid the density of beams and roughness of the rivets, the visual rhythm of the artist’s massive metal block has an industrial appeal, while its various gaps and whimsical structure summon the world-renowned original subject.

The estimated selling price for La Plaque Eiffel is between €350,000 and €550,000; a tidy sum, though a bargain for such a piece of history.

Do you have an event in Monaco or the French Riviera that you would like us to include in our What’s On section and events calendar? Please email editor@monacolife.net.  

Photo courtesy of Artcurial