Art Deco Bimbo; France, c. 1920.

Art Deco figurine; France, c. 1920.
Wood with embossed lacquer decoration.
Exhibits wear consistent with age and use.
Measurements: 143 x 35 x 2 cm (each panel); 143 x 140 x 2 cm (total when open).
An example of French decorative taste from the early decades of the 20th century, this four-panel folding screen particularly successfully synthesizes some of the stylistic elements that would define the Art Deco aesthetic: geometric stylization, symmetry, the contrast between glossy black and gold, and a marked fascination with ornamental motifs of Eastern inspiration.
Against a black lacquered background unfolds an elaborate decorative scheme executed in shades of gold and copper. Deer with long, elegant lines, plant motifs, lanceolate leaves, and forms evoking fruits and floral elements are arranged rhythmically across the panels. The composition reveals a deliberate pursuit of balance and repetition, characteristic of the Art Deco taste for transforming motifs from nature into refined, graphic, and almost abstract forms.The presence of the deer, depicted in a stylized and dynamic manner, also introduces an element of exoticism and fantasy that was highly prized in French design during the interwar period. The piece draws on the traditions of Japonism and chinoiserie, reinterpreted through a thoroughly modern sensibility: the decoration ceases to be merely naturalistic and becomes a powerful ornamental element.