Demétre Chiparus Bronze, ca. 1930
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GUEST:
This was from my father's estate. He collected art for many years, and he got it from his next-door neighbor who was an art dealer, who was French. And so I think it's a French statue.
APPRAISER:
Uh-huh.
GUEST:
But I have no idea what he paid for it.
APPRAISER:
And do you know how long ago that was?
GUEST:
It would have been in the late '60s or early '70s.
APPRAISER:
It's interesting because the late '60s, early '70s are just when this market started to take off.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
This is by an artist named Demétre Chiparus. He was actually Romanian, but he studied in France, and he exhibited quite a bit in France. The piece is very clearly signed by him. And the sculpture itself is bronze, and then it has this wonderful paint on it. We call this cold-painted. So it's actually painted with oil paints, it's not a patina, and then this base is made out of different types of onyx. And I think it's a wonderful combination of this very elaborate dress she's wearing with this very, very colorful base. Chiparus is very much influenced by contemporary ballet, dance, theater, the movies in the '20s. This is from the '20s, '30s. All these things were happening. In Paris there were the Ballets Russes, which is very famous, the Folies Bergère, so most of his sculptures deal with various dancers in these amazing, exotic costumes. I mean, it's really wonderful, and the great pose. Here, the expression on her face is just wonderful. All over, it's just a great looking piece. What's interesting about this piece by Chiparus is that we see a lot of these at the Antiques Roadshow.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
In fact, we probably see more Chiparus than any other sculptor, and almost every Chiparus we see is fake. Because they were so popular in the 1960s and 1970s, and since the value has increased, they make copies, reproductions of them.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
So they'll take an old bronze, and they'll make a cast of that and from that cast they'll make another cast. And it does not have the kind of detail that you see in these original sculptures. And also the French were real masters at casting bronze, and the foundry works closely with the artist, so the artist can direct how he wants it cast, what he wants it to look like. It's really a wonderful piece, and any idea of the value?
GUEST:
I have no idea.
APPRAISER:
You have no idea?
GUEST:
No.
APPRAISER:
Well, in a retail setting, this would probably be between $6,000 and $8,000.
GUEST:
Okay, that's nice.
Appraisal Details
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