Costes and Bellonte aviation trophy, ca. 1930

Costes and Bellonte aviation trophy, ca. 1930.
Bronze.
With Question Mark decoration in honor of the transatlantic plane with which the aviators made the Paris-New York route non-stop.
Measurements: 48,5 x 46 x 28 cm.

This trophy dated 1930 incorporates the iconic "Question Mark" that refers to the homonymous plane with which the famous French aviators Dieudonné Costes and Maurice Bellonte made the Paris-New York non-stop flight. For this reason, the trophy has a strong aeronautical and Art Deco symbolism typical of that era: the stylized geometric shapes, the lateral wings in relief and the vertical structure evoke speed, modernity and flight, concepts closely associated with interwar aviation.

Costes and Maurice Bellonte were famous French aviators who achieved international fame after making the first non-stop flight from Paris to New York in 1930, so many trophies and commemorative objects were created at the time to celebrate their exploits, using precisely this elegant and futuristic decorative language characteristic of the period.