With most of us in lockdown and unable to socialise or even see relatives and friends, this rare sculpture offers a little light relief, sweeping us back to the golden age of partying in the roaring 1920s.
Discovered on a valuation day at Hansons Auctioneers, the intoxicating sculpture depicts three jazz dancers in full swing evoking a bygone glamorous era inhabited by flappers and bright young things. For the rich, this was the age of jazz, smoking and the cocktail party, a time perfectly captured in Evelyn Waugh’s 1930 novel Vile Bodies.
After the atrocities and unimaginable carnage of the First World War, the 1920s was a new era of hope with an air of living for the moment. It helps to remind us that better times will always return, that life’s trials and tribulations cannot last forever.
The roaring 20s fired up a collective explosion of powerful new creativity. It was the golden age of Hollywood, great advances in technology, freedom for women, fast machines, fashion and above all the advent of the style we now refer to as Art Deco.
Art Deco was born out of the 1925 Exposition des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. It was a timeless modern style of elegance which took its many influences from the past and turned them into something sleek, daring and sometimes risque.
The sculptor responsible for the eye-catching work in question was Paul Philippe, who lived from 1870-1930.
His hallmark work was entitled Awakening. Created in 1925, it depicts a young woman awakening and stretching after a deep sleep. Beautiful young women are a key theme in his striking works of art.
Born in 1870 in Poland, Philippe moved to France around 1900 and went on to study under Antonin Larroux at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
After finishing art college, he developed his hallmark aesthetic of women in theatrical poses. His sculptures gained widespread popularity before his mysterious death in 1930 at an undetermined location in France. Today his work can be found in the Art Deco Museum in Moscow and in important private collections.
The striking piece discovered by Hansons dates from the mid-1920s, as with most of Philippe’s works, and is crafted in chryselephantine – cold painted bronze and ivory.
Depicting three young female dancers, hand-in-hand, wearing silk gowns and each sporting the latest bob hairstyles, it’s mounted on an onyx plinth which bears his signature.
Its arrival in our saleroom, pre-lockdown, drew much admiration, such is its striking beauty and symmetry. The delicacy and detail, particularly in the hands of the young women and the folds of the material on their dresses, is a sight to behold.
The youthful faces display an angelic grace and the sweeping movement of the figures in different dance poses combine to create a truly magical object.
Its beauty has captivated Adrian Rathbone, Hansons’ Head of Fine and Decorative Arts, who says: “The continuing popularity of the Art Deco objects is no surprise. It is a period of timeless style – one that evokes glamour and sophistication. Art Deco sculpture at its best sums up the vibrancy of the period.
“Here we have three young beauties performing a very modern dance routine. The most celebrated of Art Deco sculptors are widely regarded as German born Ferdinand Preiss and his contemporary Demetre Chiparus. Paul Philippe’s works are also highly regarded with collectors with some fetching well over £30,000.”
Philippe’s Three Dancers, Lot 4199, estimate £3,000-£5,000, is due to be sold at Hansons’ Country House Fine and Decorative Arts Auction at Bishton Hall, Staffordshire. Date to be confirmed due to delays caused by the Covid-19 emergency.
Browse and bid at Hansonslive
If you love antiques, collectables, works of art and more, you can browse our Fine Art and Library Auction Catalogue in lockdown by visiting www.hansonslive.co.uk.
You will also find live catalogues for three further delayed sales – Fine Jewellery, Silver and Watches; Historica, Coins, Banknotes and Antiquities and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Stage Show Props. If you spot anything you fancy, register with Hansonslive and bid in advance. New auction dates will be scheduled as soon as it is safe to do so.
To find out more about any of our sales,downsizing or house clearance services, or to arrange a virtual valuation of items you’re thinking of selling, please email: [email protected] or call 07725 514855.
