Friends Forever thumbnail 1
Friends Forever thumbnail 2
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Not on display

Friends Forever

Group
ca. 1927 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

An elegant woman stands with her hands resting on the heads of two Russian borzoi hounds. Chiparus specialized in chryselephantine sculpture. This technique, famously used in Greek antiquity, combined bronze and ivory, and was particularly popular in France during the art deco period in the 1920s and 1930s. 'Friends Forever' was produced in multiples, in three different sizes, this being the largest. The elegance of the woman resting her hands on her slender hounds, as well as the outline of her body beneath her clothes, accords with the ideal of the 'New Woman', la garçonne (the boy-woman), that emerged after the First World War.

Object details

Category
Object type
Titles
  • Friends Forever (assigned by artist)
  • Eternal Friends
  • Les Amis de toujours
Materials and techniques
Ivory and cold-painted bronze on marble base
Brief description
Group 'Friends Forever', by Demeter Chiparus, 1927, bronze and ivory, Romanian (made in Paris), 20th century
Physical description
An elegant woman stands with her hands resting on the heads of two Russian borzoi hounds. The chryselephantine sculpture of ivory and cold-painted bronze rests on a marble base.
Dimensions
  • Height: 62.8cm
Style
Gallery label
(October 2009)
The Art Deco artist Chiparus was a master of chryselephantine sculpture. This technique, famously used in Greek antiquity, combined bronze and ivory. Friends Forever was produced in multiples, in three different sizes. Here the elegance of the lady resting her hands on her slender canine companions, as well as the outline of her body beneath her clothes, accords with the ideal of the 'new woman' that emerged after the First World War.
Object history
Seized by Border Force, 2005, on loan to the V&A since 2005; transferred to the V&A by Border Force, 2021
Subject depicted
Summary
An elegant woman stands with her hands resting on the heads of two Russian borzoi hounds. Chiparus specialized in chryselephantine sculpture. This technique, famously used in Greek antiquity, combined bronze and ivory, and was particularly popular in France during the art deco period in the 1920s and 1930s. 'Friends Forever' was produced in multiples, in three different sizes, this being the largest. The elegance of the woman resting her hands on her slender hounds, as well as the outline of her body beneath her clothes, accords with the ideal of the 'New Woman', la garçonne (the boy-woman), that emerged after the First World War.
Bibliographic references
  • A. Shayo, Chiparus, Master of Art Deco, New York, 1993, p. 28, and pl. 13 on p. 81.
  • V. Arwas, Art Deco Sculpture, London, 1992, p. 66.
  • B. Catley, Art Deco and other figures, Woodbridge, 1978, repr. 2003, p.58.
Collection
Accession number
A.7-2021

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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