Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 5

Pierre Le Faguays
Water Carrier

1925

About the Item

PIERRE LE FAGUAYS "WATER CARRIER" BRONZE AND ALABASTER, SIGNED ELECTRIFIED FRANCE, C.1925 15.5 INCHES A French sculptor of lithe female figures, monuments, ceramics and figurative lamps working in Art Deco* style, Pierre Le Faguays captured public attention with his early exhibitions of exuberant dancing figures, inspired by the statues of Tanagra*, a community north of Athens known for mass produced terracotta* figurines. It is thought that he also used the pseudonym of Raymond Guerbe, which is reinforced by the similarities of subject matter and style. Also there is discrepancy about his death date, given as 1925, 1935 and 1962. A biography of Papillon Gallery indicates that Le Faguays "exhibited in 1937 in Paris at L'Exposition Internationale." * Assuming this participation to be true, that would make the death date of 1962 the likely one. Le Faguays was a native of Nantes, France. He studied at the Paris Salon* and in Geneva, Switzerland, and was a member of the Salon, La Stele and Evolution groups. His mediums included ivory, wood, stone and bronze. In 1927, he was awarded the French Medal of Honor. Of Le Faguay's sculpture Faun and Nymph, a viewer wrote: "Most of the decorative bronzes that I have seen from the Art Deco era (such as those of Ferdinand Preiss and Demetre Chiparus) reflect Jazz Age subject matter, but were essentially academic in style. Yet here, Le Faguays takes the three-dimensional medium of sculpture and adopts the heavy lines and two-dimensionality of Art Deco graphic design. This may be seen the most strongly in the poses and hair of the figures and the musculature of the faun. It reminds me of Hildreth Meiers's sculptures on the outside of Radio City Music Hall. These were, by necessity, flat. But Le Faguays faced no such limitation and simply adopted the sharp angularity for purely aesthetic reasons."
  • Creator:
    Pierre Le Faguays (1892 - 1962, French)
  • Creation Year:
    1925
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 15.5 in (39.37 cm)Width: 4 in (10.16 cm)Depth: 4 in (10.16 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU392427313

More From This Seller

View All
Bacchanal
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Charles Edouard Richefeu (1868-1945) A stunning dated 1926. A faun and nude woman dancing. Signed RICHEFEU in the bronze. Foundry mark stamp "R. COTTIN & FILS Paris Bronze". Definitely inspired by Diagilev Russian Ballet and Nijinsky dancer on Claude Debussy...
Category

1820s Art Deco Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Bacchanal
$2,368 Sale Price
20% Off
Coty Award
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Created C. 1943, award presented in 1965 to Gertrude Seperack for her design work in the fashion induustry. The bronze portion measures 14 x 8.5 inches. The Coty American Fashion Cri...
Category

1940s Art Deco Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Hoop Dancer
By Demetre Chiparus
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Demetre Haralamb Chiparus (also known as Dumitru Chiparus) (16 September 1886 in Dorohoi, Romania - 22 January 1947 in Paris, France) was a Romanian Art Deco* era sculptor who lived and worked in Paris. He was born in Romania, the son of Haralamb and Saveta. In 1909 he went to Italy, where he attended the classes of Italian sculptor Raffaello Romanelli. In 1912 he traveled to Paris to attend the Ecole des Beaux Arts* to pursue his art at the classes of Antonin Mercie and Jean Boucher. Demetre Chiparus died in 1947 and was buried in Bagneux cemetery, just south of Paris. The first sculptures of Chiparus were created in the realistic style and were exhibited at the Salon of 1914. He employed the combination of bronze and ivory, called chryselephantine*, to great effect. Most of his renowned works were made between 1914 and 1933. The first series of sculptures manufactured by Chiparus were the series of the children. The mature style of Chiparus took shape beginning in the 1920s. His sculptures are remarkable for their bright and outstanding decorative effect. Dancers of the Russian Ballet, French theatre, and early motion pictures were among his more notable subjects and were typified by a long, slender, stylized appearance. His work was influenced by an interest in Egypt, after Pharaoh Tutankhamen's tomb was excavated. He worked primarily with the Edmond Etling and Cie Foundry in Paris administrated by Julien Dreyfus. Les Neveux de J. Lehmann was the second foundry which constantly worked with Chiparus and produced the sculptures of his models. Chiparus rarely exhibited at the Salon. In 1923 he showed his Javelin Thrower, and in 1928 exhibited his Ta-Keo dancer. During the period of Nazi persecution and the World War II, the foundries discontinued production of work by Chiparus. The economic situation of that time was not favorable to the development of decorative arts and circumstances for many sculptors worsened. Since the early 1940s almost no works of Chiparus were sold, but he continued sculpting for his own pleasure, depicting animals in the Art Deco style. At the 1942 Paris Salon, the plaster sculptures Polar Bear and American Bison were exhibited, and in 1943 he showed a marble Polar Bear and plaster Pelican. Sculptures of Dimitri Chiparus represent the classical manifestation of Art Deco style in decorative bronze ivory sculpture. Traditionally, four factors of influence over the creative activity of the artist can be distinguished: Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, ancient Egyptian art, and French theatre. Early motion pictures were among his more notable subjects and were typified by figures with a long, slender, stylized appearance. Some of his sculptures were directly inspired by Russian dancers. Quite often, Chiparus used the photos of Russian and French dancers, stars and models from fashion magazines of his time. After the tomb of Tutankhamun was discovered in 1922, the art of ancient Egypt...
Category

1920s Art Deco Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Hoop Dancer
$4,400 Sale Price
20% Off
La Toilette
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Albert Wein was born in New York in 1915 and was the only son of an accomplished woman artist, Elsa Wein. Her influence and intense commitment to nurturing the young Albert's seeming...
Category

1970s Art Deco Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

The Fisherman
By Ugo Cipriani
Located in Los Angeles, CA
An impressive French Art Deco sculpture of a semi nude male holding a trident. Cast in patinated French spelter and sits on a marble base. We believe Bezin may be a pseudonym for ano...
Category

1930s Art Deco Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Metal

Le Dresseur De Lion
By Max Le Verrier
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A rare Art Deco patinated metal sculpture modelled as an athletic male walking alongside a stylized lion utlizing cubist elements. The work is set on a black polished stone base whic...
Category

1920s Art Deco Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Marble, Metal

You May Also Like

Young girl sitting at her toilet
By Joseph Bernard
Located in PARIS, FR
"Young girl sitting at her toilet" also known as "Young girl with braids" by Joseph BERNARD (1866-1931) Sculpture in bronze with a nuanced brownish dark green patina Signed on the ...
Category

1920s Art Deco Nude Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Kneeling Female Nude, Bronze By Mario Korbel
Located in Norwood, NJ
Joseph Mario Korbel (Czech/American, 1882-1954). Period fine example bronze, dark brown patina, modeled as a nude female kneeling and tying her sandal, raised on a stepped black marb...
Category

Early 20th Century Art Deco Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Return from the Tiger hunt
Located in PARIS, FR
"Return from the Hunt" also named '"Return from the Tiger hunt" by Roger GODCHAUX (1878-1958) Rare and remarkable bronze group with a nuanced dark greenish brown patina Signed on t...
Category

1930s Art Deco Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Thoroughbred, Art Deco Bronze Sculpture by Loet Vanderveen
By Loet Vanderveen
Located in Long Island City, NY
Loet Vanderveen, Dutch (1921 - 2015) - Thoroughbred, Medium: Bronze sculpture, signature and numbering inscribed on bottom, Edition: 235/500, Size: 4.75 x 8 x 4 in. (12.07 x 20.3...
Category

1920s Art Deco Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Mahout washing his elephant
Located in PARIS, FR
Mahout washing his elephant by Roger GODCHAUX (1878-1958) A very rare sculpture in bronze with a nuanced dark brown patina Signed on the base "Roger Godchaux" Cast by "Susse Frs Edt...
Category

1930s Art Deco Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Helen of Troy
By Erté
Located in Greenwich, CT
Erté’s image of Helen of Troy also exists as a gouache painting and a serigraph. Known as "the face that launched a thousand ships" and as Zeus' daughter, her story is one that is intricately intertwined with many of the Greek gods and goddesses...
Category

20th Century Art Deco Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Recently Viewed

View All