Welcome to the ROARING TWENTIES!
As we enter 2020, Kate MacDougall looks back 100 years and discovers the dawn of a striking, dynamic and oh-so fabulous movement that would come to be called ‘art deco’
Can you think of a style that be er encapsulates the era from which it was born than art deco? Sandwiched between the horror and disarray of the two World Wars, there was a glorious, golden time, where society chose to forget the austerity and conservatism of the past and turned sharply towards the decadent, the glamorous and the thoroughly modern.
With a new consumer economy booming and a renewed sense of hope and aspiration in the air, the 1920s roared in on the bloodied coat tails of the First World War, bringing appers, jazz and the rise of the silver screen alongside a bold, new aesthetic.
Taking its name from the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, a huge exhibition
held in Paris and featuring all the key designers of the day, art deco quickly became a global movement – the rst of its kind.
With its dynamic, streamlined forms, geometric pa erning, and use of rare and striking materials such as ebony, tortoiseshell and jade, art deco was as distinctive as it was universal. The look included not just furniture and architecture, but also mirrors, lamps, barware, wallpaper, tiles, rugs and bronzes.
Unsurprisingly, authentic pieces are in huge demand today. Art deco dealer and restorer Jeroen Markies explains why he believes the style remains so popular: ‘The pieces still have a contemporary feel about them, bridging a gap between the antique and the modern. They are a great look for today’s home,’ he says.
Antique art deco walnut display cabinet, £1,200, Regent Antiques.
In cabinet (top shelves): René Lalique Rampillon vases, £1,875, The Design Gallery; £1,725, M&D Moir; Schneider Le Verre Francais Moonflask vase, £280, The Design Gallery. On second shelf: Peppermint René Lalique bowl, £2,500, M&D Moir; Moser emerald facet cut crystal vase with oroplastic frieze c1920, £750, Richard Hoppé Antiques; René Lalique Bammako vase, £2,650, The Design Gallery; Kralik c1925 marquetry vase, £980, M&D Moir.
On bottom shelf: René Lalique Domremy vase, £1,480, Jeroen Markies; Daum Nancy geometric etched large green glass bowl, £1,950,
Matthew Foster Art Deco Gallery. Walnut and burr occasional table, £480,
Gazelles of Lyndhurst. Charles Catteau
vase with leaping stag c1920s,
£1,950, Matthew Foster Art Deco Gallery London. A Musical Idyll
watercolour and gouache on paper by Walpole Champneys, £2,900 for a pair, Jeroen Markies. 1930s Turkish rug, £1,450, Rare Rugs.
Cluster colourful geometric vases on a richly patinated wooden table and pull the look together with a vibrant colour scheme.
Blue fabric, stylist’s own. Art deco walnut and burr walnut c1930 occasional table, £480,
Gazelles of Lyndhurst. Thomas Forester & Son fan base vase,
£250; Thomas Forester & Son tall vase, £750; Crown Devon twin-handled, hand-painted geometric vase, £450, all
Gazelles of Lyndhurst. Glazed
stoneware vase with stylised floral motif c1920s,
£595; Longwy for Atelier Primavera glazed and craquelured art deco ceramic pot c1920s, £595,
both Matthew Foster Art Deco Gallery London.
While there is no doubt that art deco exudes a sense of the avant-garde and an enthusiasm for advances in technology, engineering and motion, many of its stylistic in uences are rooted in the past and include touches of the ancient and the foreign, with Egyptian, Aztec and African motifs all leaving their mark. The combination of the modern with the exotic is one of the reasons that art deco is so distinctive. ‘This is the rst time that something totally new and fresh came on to the market and that’s what makes it so exciting today,’ says Jeroen.
Although original French pieces by some of the most notable designers such as Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann or René Lalique can exceed
hundreds of thousands of pounds, pieces from the English art deco stable are far more a ordable. Chairs and tables by distinguished names such as the Epstein brothers and Hille can fetch between £2,000 and £3,000 at auction. Smaller items like mirrors or lamps can be bought today for as li le as £200-£300. This is a re ection of the movement’s shi into the 1930s, when mass production ensured that objects could be made in much greater quantities at a lower cost.
But what we really love about this remarkable look is the sense of glamour and elegance that it evokes. When we see a beautifully curved, walnut cocktail cabinet or a sleek, angular lamp, we are able to picture ourselves in that drawing room, at that party, during a time when pleasure and enjoyment were fundamental antidotes.
‘There is a growing nostalgia for deco at the moment,’ Jeroen concludes. ‘The 1920s and 30s seemed to be a lot more fun with all the parties and the cocktails. Why not own a piece of that?’