Demetre H. Chiparus

Private collection, circa 1950s
Private collection, 1987 (acquired from the above)

Bryan Catley, Art Deco and Other Figures, 1978, p. 95 for a smaller example
Victor Arwas, Art Deco Sculpture, 1992, pp. 42-43
Alberto Shayo, Chiparus, Master of Art Deco, 1993, pl. 52, p.120 for a similar example

Thaïs is one of Chiparus' most important chryselephantine sculptures to appear at auction, as only four models of this work exists. Thaïs  reflects the Art Deco tendency to couple classical influences with modernism. Chryselephantine sculpture refers to mixed-media work using ivory in combination with bronze, wood, marble, or onyx, among other media.  Thaïs is an example of chryselephantine sculpture at its most accomplished. A greek hetaera, Thaïs accompanied Alexander the Great on many of his campaigns, and has captured the interest of numerous artists, novelists, and composers through her infamous beauty and captivating power.  She appears in Dante's The Divine Comedy, Anatole France's novel Thaïs and is also the subject of the Massenet opera of the same name.  Chiparus'  Thaïs  is a study of grace and motion.  The elegant and historic beauty, carved from ivory and draped in silvered and gilt bronze, is caught in mid-step; Chiparus conveys the extraordinary plasticity of her movement. Exquisite, painstaking detail, from the delicate fingernails to the bend of the toes, creates a sculpture that enraptures the viewer, bringing to mind the mysticism of the Greek story of Thaïs and the aesthetic beauty of  Sergei Diaghilev's the Ballet Russes, a highly influential Paris sensation.