The Gift (sculpture)
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For other uses, see The Gift.
The Gift (Le Cadeau in French) is an early readymade by Man Ray (with the assistance of Erik Satie), consisting of an iron with fourteen nails glued to its sole, made in 1921 in Paris.
Much like Oppenheim's Object, Gift is a conjunction of two alien objects. One represents domesticity and possibly femininity; the other represents carpentry and hence masculinity. The sheer failure of Gift as something practical makes the object a poor gift - ironic naming on Ray's part.
In 1940, Ray made 5,000 replicas of Gift as a limited edition, each with thirteen nails instead of fourteen.
