Product Description
Jan et Joel Martel / Primavera French Art Deco Courting Fantail Pigeon Sculptures c.1930

JAN ET JOËL MARTEL (1896-1966) France
PRIMAVERA Paris
Pair of courting Faintail Pigeon Sculptures c.1925-30
Black glazed earthenware with silver / platinum decorative dot motif.
Marks: PRIMAVERA FRANCE, 12684
For related model: The Art Deco Style in Household Objects, Architecture, Scupture, Graphics, Jewelry, Theodore Menten (New York: Dover, 1972), p. 179.
For more information see: Joël et Jan Martel: sculpteurs 1896-1966, Christophe Vital, et al. (Paris: Gallimard / Electa, 1996), pp. 127-9
H: 8 1/16” x L: 9” x D at tail: 5 1/4”
H: 7 1/8” x L: 10” x D at tail: 5 1/4”
Jan & Joël Martel (the Martel Brothers/Twins, born in Nantes on 5 April 1896, both died in 1966)
The twin Martel sculptors were among the founding members of Union des Artistes Modernes, and their original works include ornamental sculptures, statues, monuments and fountains displaying characteristics typical of the Art Déco and Cubist periods. The brothers took part in a number of Paris exhibitions including the Salon des Indépendants, Salon d’Automne, Salon des Tuileries and the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs in 1925. In 1932, they created the Claude Debussy monument which sits on the boulevard Lannes in Paris. Between 1924-1926, Robert Mallet-Stevens designed a studio for the Martel twins at 10 Rue Mallet-Stevens in Paris’ 16th Arrondissement.
Jan et Joel Martel / Primavera French Art Deco Courting Fantail Pigeon Sculptures c.1930
GEORGES SERRÉ (1889-1956) France
Vase c. 1925
Warm ivory /sand colored glazed stoneware with hand incised stylized leaf and floral motif with a top collar and lower half in a softened geometric repeat pattern all in a light brown tonality.
Marks: G Serre (hand incised signature)
For more information see: La Céramique Art Déco, Edgar Pelichet (Paris: Bibliothèque des Arts, 1988), p. 47.
For more information on Serré see: Georges Serré, exhib. cat. (Paris: Galerie Landrot, 1992).
H: 11″ x Dia: 10″
FRENCH ART DECO
LA MARQUISE DE SEVIGNE Paris
Covered chocolate box 1932
Black and red oil cloth, nickle plated brass
Illustrated in La Marquise de Sevigne Paris vintage ad (see pairing)
Dia: 10″ x H: 3″
MULLER FRÈRES Lunéville, France
Vase c. 1925
Heavy cased clear glass over black glass with silver foil inclusions; acid-etched and deeply wheel-carved with a large zig zag motif
Signed: MULLER FRES LUNEVILLE (etched signature)
For more information see: Glass, Art Nouveau to Art Deco, Victor Arwas (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1987) pp. 231-6;L’Europe de L’Art Verrier, des Precurseurs de l’Art Nouveau a l’Art Actuel 1850-1990, Giuseppe Cappa (Mardaga: Liège,1991) pp. 344-7.
H: 8” x Dia: 8″
Just Andersen (1884-1943), Denmark.
Pair of five-branch Art Deco candelabra, circa 1925.
Cast and wrought bronze with original rich brown and green patina.
Marks: Denmark just in a triangular cartouche, No. B180.
For more information see: “Just Andersen: Manden og Vaerket” by Svend Rindholt in Samleren: Tidskrift for Kunst og Kunstindustri (Attende Aargang, 1941) pp. 171-194; Dansk Biografisk Leksikon. Første Bind (Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 1979) p. 199. The Design Encyclopedia. Mel Byars (New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1994) p. 23.
H: 17 5/16″ x W: 17 1/2″
By repute this pair of candelabra were exhibited in the Danish section at the Paris 1925 Exposition.
Just Andersen was a designer and craftsman for Georg Jensen until 1918 when he left to open his own studio. These candelabra are exquisite and remarkable examples of Danish Art Deco design and a testament to the artist’s consummate craftsmanship. Andersen’s bronzes are characterized by rich, deep patination and superlative casting quality and surfaces.