- 5
Demeter Chiparus
Description
- Demeter Chiparus
- Civa
base engraved Chiparus and Made in France, figure stamped with circular foundry mark L. N./PARIS/J. L. and 1/MADE/IN/FRANCE
- cold-painted, parcel-gilt and silvered bronze; carved and tinted ivory; with an elaborate onyx temple-form base
- 28 x 17 1/2 x 17 1/4 in. (71.1 x 44.5 x 43.8 cm)
- edited by Les Neveux de J. Lehmann, Paris
Provenance
Don O'Neill Gallery, Beverly Hills, CA, 1977
Frederic M. Babbish Collection
Exhibited
A Private Collection of Art Deco Chryselephantine Sculpture, Sotheby’s, New York, July 17-August 25, 1995
Literature
Yvonne Brunhammer, The Art Deco Style, New York, 1984, p. 156, no. 329
Umberto Di Cristina, "Isadora in Ivory: The Art Deco Statuettes of Demeter Chiparus," FMR, November 1985, p. 57
Alberto Shayo, Chiparus: Master of Art Deco, New York, 1993, frontispiece, p. 32 (for a period photograph of Mlle. Rhouma-je) and p. 169, pl. 100
Catalogue Note
Though formless, timeless, and spaceless in conception for some Hindus, Shiva was a favorite subject for early modern dancers, who portrayed the god in decidedly feminine guise. Western approximations of Eastern dances were more often inspired by still images than by performance, though Vaslav Nijinsky, the star of the Ballets Russes added a Siamese dance to his repertory after court dancers from Siam visited St. Petersburg. The photographs of Nijinsky and Mlle. Rhouma-je, who appeared at the Hermitage Theater, emphasize the trademark hand gestures they copied from Eastern dances.
The temple-form base for this figure is one of the more elaborate bases designed by Chiparus. Çiva was alternatively offered on simple pedestals, and temple-form bases of varying designs. The latter were often electrified to conceal light bulbs in the base, which provided a soft glow to the shaped appliques, and below the domed top, illuminating the central figure.