Lot 375 : Estimate £40,000-£60,000
Demetre H. Chiparus (Romanian 1886 - 1947) - Etoile De Mer or Starfish, a patinated bronze and parcel gilt carved ivory figure depicting a dancer in full leotard body costume with starfishes clinging to her leotard, standing on her toes with her arms raised and intertwined above her head, on a shaped onyx base with green onyx and Portor marble sections, unsigned, height 39cm Provenance: Purchased from new by John Russell Rose, J.P., M.Inst B.E. and then by descent. Literature: Bryan Catley, Art Deco and Other Figures, Woodbridge, 1978, p. 82 Victor Arwas, Art Deco Sculpture, New York, 1992, p. 54 Alberto Shayo, Chiparus: Master of Art Deco, New York, 1999, p. 49, pl. 83 Notes: Sadko and 'Etoile De Mer' Her character is taken from the Ballets Russes production of 'The Kingdom Under the Sea' first staged in Paris in 1911, which in turn was based on the opera 'Sadko' by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. It uses the sixth scene of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera 'Sadko' focusing on the festivities of Princess Volkova, youngest daughter of the King of the Sea and Sadko's wedding, attended by the monsters, fish and sea creatures. With revolutionary costume and set design by Boris Anisfeld and Leon Bakst and choreography by Michel Folkine, it both delighted and shocked audiences with its underwater exoticism on stage. Dancers wore tight fitting costumes made from metallic lame over ultramarine silk allowing them the freedom to interpret the fluid movement of water and the shimmer and iridescence of marine creatures. 'Etoile de Mer' is one of Chiparus's most iconic sculptures and depicts Princess Volkova as she emerges from the sea with starfishes clinging to her leotard, standing on her toes with her arms raised and intertwined.
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