After Demétre Chiparus

After DEMÉTRE HARALAMB CHIPARUS (Romania, 1886 - France, 1947).
Table clock and fittings, ca.1920.
Body in veined marble.
Sculptural group in gilded bronze.
Signed "D.H. Chiparus".
Paris movement, signed (Vincenti).
Without key.
Missing a hand.
The machinery needs to be reworked.
Measurements: 33 x 44,5 x 13,5 cm (watch); 19 x 16 x 16 x 16 cm (lining).

The Egyptian world was one of Chiparus' sources of inspiration, freely interpreted by the artist to channel the exoticism and iconography of the ancient world and transmute it into refined, modern forms, in keeping with the modern language of Art Deco. In this table clock, the sculptor, a follower of Chiparus, pays homage to Ancient Egypt with the representation of an oriental woman wearing a turban and a bust adorned with a geometric hooped bodice, embracing a large lion that seems to have domesticated. Another lion dozes beside her. In the manner of an oriental Circe, the animal fierceness is neutralized by her sensual charms. The sculptural group in gilded bronze rests on a truncated pyramidal base that combines marble in different tones and marbling that emphasizes the elegant geometry of the whole. The dial is a gilded bronze soffit with a hexagonal profile and Arabic numerals. The clock is accompanied by matching trim, also combining two types of marble.

Born in Dorohoi, Romania, Chiparus is currently the most appreciated sculptor of the Art Deco period. He began his training in 1909 in Italy, where he was taught by the sculptor Raffaello Romanelli. In 1912 he moved to Paris and entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, where his teachers were Antonin Mercie and Jean Boucher. Chiparus exhibited his first works, in a realistic style, at the Paris Salon of 1914. He already used a combination of materials, bronze and ivory, which from then on would be frequent in his production. A sculptor in the Art Deco style, he produced his best works between 1914 and 1933. His sculptures were admired for their brilliant decorative effect and originality, as well as for the attractiveness of their subjects. Chiparus was inspired by Russian ballets, French theater and early motion pictures to create his personal figures, stylized and elegant, with graceful movement and dynamic composition. Another of his main influences was ancient Egypt, following the discovery and excavation of the tomb of Tuntankhamon. Throughout his career he exhibited only occasionally at the Paris Salon, and during World War II he was forced to interrupt his production. By the early 1940s his work had virtually no audience, but the artist continued to sculpt for himself, producing animal figures in the Art Deco style. In 1942 and 1943, Chiparus exhibited his sculptures "Polar Bear", "American Bison" and "Pelican" at the Salon. Dimitri Chiparus is currently represented in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris and the Musée d'Art Nouveau and Art Deco Casa Lis in Salamanca, among others, as well as in prominent private collections around the world.