An iconic Art Deco cold painted gilt and patinated bronze sculpture of a semi-naked dancer holding a Thyrsus staff, vine and grapes, across her shoulders.
Raised on a stepped portoro marble base
Engraved signature Le Faguays.
Circa 1930
Bibliography: Bryan Catley, Art Deco and Other Figures, Second Edition, Antique Collectors' Club, Woodbridge, 2003, p.206, (example of this model illustrated)
Pierre Le Faguays was born in Rezé in 1892, he was trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Genève by a certain Vibert. He exhibited regularly in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s, during the golden age of the Art Deco movement. He liked to work with a wide range of materials: stone, bronze, cast iron, marble or even terracotta. His sculptures are often in motion, he produced mostly on a living model. The style of the Faguays is close to Demeter Chiparus, known mainly for his bronze and ivory sculptures depicting exotic dancers.
The artist used the names «Guerbe» or «Raymonde Guerbe» to sign some of his works. Most of them come from the famous foundry of Max le Verrier. After the war, the artist tried his hand at drawing and painting. He died on 8 September 1962 in Paris.