Josephine Baker
Figure
ca. 1940s (made), c. 1925 (designed)
ca. 1940s (made), c. 1925 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Starting in Paris in the early 20th century, a passion for all things ‘African’ spread across Europe during the 1920s and 30s. This interest in Black culture found commercial success in the Art Deco style which frequently borrowed aspects of African design to create ‘exotic’ objects for European consumers.
In 1925 the African-American dancer Josephine Baker escaped the restrictions of the racially-divided United States to become a sensation in Paris. Her erotic dances and risqué costumes, which included a skirt made of bananas, found instant success amongst Parisian audiences enraptured with all things exotic, as too did her menagerie of pet animals which included Chiquita the cheetah. Baker became a design icon in her own right and appeared on many objects of the period. In this glass figure she is wearing her signature banana skirt.
In 1925 the African-American dancer Josephine Baker escaped the restrictions of the racially-divided United States to become a sensation in Paris. Her erotic dances and risqué costumes, which included a skirt made of bananas, found instant success amongst Parisian audiences enraptured with all things exotic, as too did her menagerie of pet animals which included Chiquita the cheetah. Baker became a design icon in her own right and appeared on many objects of the period. In this glass figure she is wearing her signature banana skirt.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Josephine Baker (manufacturer's title) |
| Materials and techniques | Lampworked glass |
| Brief description | Lamp-worked glass figure of the dancer Josephine Baker, designed by Fritz Lampl, and made probably at Orplid Glassworks, London, designed about 1925, made 1940's possibly. |
| Physical description | A standing glass figure of a dancer modelled on African-American dancer Josephine Baker, lampworked clear glass base, brown figure with a green glass skirt. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Object history | Fritz Lampl (1892 - 1995) was the artistic director of Bimini in Vienna. In 1938 he emigrated to England and founded Orplid Glass. This and the other figures acquired in this group (c.21 to 24- 1995) had been bought by the vendor from a collector who had acquired them in this country during the 1960s and 70s. Though Lampl continued essentially the same production in both Austria and England it seems likely that these were produced in London. The figures were shown in a small display of Bimini / Orplid work in the V&A, July 1995 – Jan 1996 Bimini / Orplid scrapbook in Ceramics dept library. Waltraud Neuwirth, Bimini, Vienna, 1992. |
| Historical context | Josephine Baker was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1906 and entered vaudeville as a teen before joining the 'Harlem Renaissance' then happening in New York City. She performed at the Plantation Club and in the chorus of popular Broadway revues. In 1925 she opened in Paris at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, where her erotic dancing and 'exotic' costumes, which included a skirt of bananas, found instant success amongst a Parisian audience enraptured with all things 'African'. She became the most successful American entertainer in France, an achievement impossible in the racially-divided United States. |
| Production | Probably made at Orplid Glassworks |
| Subject depicted | |
| Association | |
| Summary | Starting in Paris in the early 20th century, a passion for all things ‘African’ spread across Europe during the 1920s and 30s. This interest in Black culture found commercial success in the Art Deco style which frequently borrowed aspects of African design to create ‘exotic’ objects for European consumers. In 1925 the African-American dancer Josephine Baker escaped the restrictions of the racially-divided United States to become a sensation in Paris. Her erotic dances and risqué costumes, which included a skirt made of bananas, found instant success amongst Parisian audiences enraptured with all things exotic, as too did her menagerie of pet animals which included Chiquita the cheetah. Baker became a design icon in her own right and appeared on many objects of the period. In this glass figure she is wearing her signature banana skirt. |
| Bibliographic reference | Journal of Glass Studies, vol. 38, 1996, p. 250, no. 46. |
| Other number | 9660 - Glass gallery number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | C.22-1995 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | June 25, 2004 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
