Salvador DALI (1904-1989) "Eye". 1967. Signed prototype and model of the eye made for the final sculpture of the Cyclops. Ocularist's prosthesis with light brown iris signed "Dali" then varnished, accompanied by a prototype with blue iris in glazed ceramic on wood. The prosthesis is signed by Salvador Dali with a drawing of blood vessels. In its circular metal box painted yellow and marked on the lid: "Lemoine-Flizet-Peigné, ocularistes. 76, boulevard de Magenta. Paris". Dimensions of the ocularist's prosthesis: 2.2 x 2.8 x 1.1 cm. Dimensions of the prototype: 2.6 x 1.7 cm. Provenance: Prosthesis and prototype given to the current owner by a Daum crystal maker in 1987. Bibliography: Noël Daum, La pâte de verre, Paris, Éditions Denoël, 1984, p. 167. Like the New Realist César (1921-1998), Salvador Dali worked with Jacques Daum (1909-1987) to create surrealist decorative objects in pâte de cristal. Published by the famous glass manufacturer between 1968 and 1985, the works were unique in that they revived the ancient technique of pâte de verre, with the addition of around a third of lead. In 1967, Dali designed a sculpture almost 50 cm high stylising Polyphemus flanked by a single eye. The unsigned ceramic model of the eye has a blue iris, as in the final version of the sculpture published by Daum. In order to base his creation on a naturalistic model, Dali was inspired by our ocularist's prosthesis, to which he affixed his signature and then varnished. This suggests that the Cyclops originally had a light brown eye.