Chiparus & the Ballets Russes: Twelve Masterworks from an Important Private Collection

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Lot 3
  • 3

Demeter Chiparus

Estimate
150,000 - 250,000 USD
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Description

  • Demeter Chiparus
  • Danseurs Persans
  • base engraved D. H. Chiparus and ETLING PARIS
  • cold-painted, parcel-gilt and silvered bronze; carved ivory; on an onyx and Portor marble base
  • 20 7/8 x 13 x 5 in. (53 x 33 x 12.7 cm)
  • edited by Etling, Paris

Provenance

Hôtel des Ventes de Neuilly, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, July 2, 2002, lot 127

Literature

Bryan Catley, Art Deco and other Figures, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1978, p. 85
Victor Arwas, Art Deco Sculpture, London, 1992, p. 32
Alberto Shayo, Chiparus:  Master of Art Deco, New York, 1993, p. 96, pl. 28

Catalogue Note

Chiparus' Danseurs Persans bears a striking resemblance to a photograph of the lead dancers from the Ballets Russes' production of Scheherazade, a landmark work and hit of the 1910 Paris season.  Scheherazade launched a mania for all things Eastern in Paris.  While Léon Bakst's designs for this ballet were widely imitated, and the ballet inspired scores of copies, Chiparus retained the jeweled breastplates and armbands of Bakst's original designs.