Chryselephantine Sculpture of Girl by Demetre Chiparus, 1920’s

Fine Art : Sculptures

 

Fabulous gilt and enamel bronze and ivory (chryselephantine) sculpture of a young girl by Demetre Chiparus. The sculpture represents a young school-girl holding her book bag behind her back. She is wearing a cloche hat and swing cape with tall button-up boots, and she is mounted on an round onyx base.

Demetre Haralamb Chiparus was born on September 16, 1886 in Dorohol Romania. He attended art classes in Italy and ended up in Paris in 1912 where he stayed until his death in 1947. His first sculptures were created in the realistic style and were exhibited at the Paris salon’s of 1914. He employed a form of an ancient Egyptian technique called Chryselephantine, which combined ivory and metal to create impressive effects in sculpture. Chiparus’ initial pieces were a series of children, an example of which we see here. He is one of the most famous, most collected, and most copied of the early 20th century artists.

The figure is marked as shown and in very good condition. There is a small minute edge chip on the top of her forehead at the 10:30 position and a barely visible age line near and under her right chin area.

Size 7” Height.

Item ID: PS02-27-09-05