As promised, here is the second part of our visit to Eclectica, the lovely antique shop in beautiful Wynberg, Cape Town. I would like to dedicate today’s post to their fabulous collection of antique sculptures:
Demitri Chiparus (1886 – 1947) Lady and the Lionesses
I was especially fond of two sculptures (above and below here) and it turned out that they were made by the same artist – Demitri Chiparus (1886 – 1947). Chiparus was a Romanian artist living in Paris during the Roaring Twenties, and he designed the most stunning Art Deco decorative bronze sculptures.
He drew inspiration from Russian dancers, ancient Egyptian art and French theatre and was especially skillful in capturing movements. He presented his subjects in the most elegant ways and we have a wonderful example in the photo above, where you can see how the hemline drapes around the lady’s legs in the most lifelike-manner. She has also been captured so beautifully mid-movement with her two lionesses.
The beautifully decorated upstairs…
The Art Deco movement was inevitably influenced by ancient Egypt, with the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, which also became a prevalent feature in Chiparus’ pieces. He never visited Egypt, so his sculptures of Cleopatra and Egyptian dancers were created with a vivid imagination and were not necessarily historically accurate. I would however say that this is the case with so much art in the world; personal interpretation is predominant even when the artist has seen the subject in question with their own eyes!
Bronze statue and clock
Bronze statue and clock
I also loved the clock sculpture above, with the man and his horse caught in a struggle.
Maurice Guiraud-Riviere Art Deco Gold Patina Bronze Sculpture
This was another extraordinary sculpture of two dancers, made by the Art Deco sculptor Maurice Guiraud-Riviere (1881-1947). He mostly created bronze sculptures portraying women, sports, aviation and cars.
Decades of Elegance 