Art Deco Bookends: Loie Fuller

[c. 1920] Pair of dancing Loie Fuller bookends, bronze-toned cast metal. About fine, with a few tiny nicks, and traces of patina here and there. Overall, a gorgeous rendering of this influential dancer. Loie Fuller (1862-1928) was a pioneering American dancer who invented the "Serpentine dance," a type of "skirt dance" in which she would mesmerically swirl her billowing silk robe, and made many innovations in stage lighting, utilizing under-stage lighting, phosphorescent materials, mirrors, and other revolutionary techniques. She achieved great popularity around the turn of the century, particularly among avant-garde audiences in Paris. Named after the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts that took place in Paris in 1925, Art Deco was a design movement that flourished in the 1920s and 1930s, characterized by sleekness and geometric lines, and influenced by industrialism, Cubism, Bauhaus, and archaeological discoveries, including King Tut's tomb in 1922. During the height of the movement, Art Deco bookends were popular objects to collect, due to their beauty, affordability, and practicality. Notably, New York City is home to a few of the world's most famous examples of Art Deco architecture: the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, and Rockefeller Center. This collection of Art Deco bookends features a wide and wonderful variety of designs and metal types. The sculpted works span historical figures like Roycroft arts-and-crafts community founder Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915), modern dance pioneer and inventor of the "Serpentine Dance" Loie Fuller (1862-1928), and the legendary literary pair Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) and his muse Beatrice Portinari (ca. 1265-1290). Other designs include lions, serpents, whales, seamen, puppies, and cherubs, among many others. The bookends were made by some of the most prominent American art metal companies of the first half of the 20th century, including PM Craftsman (est. 1911), Armor Bronze (est. 1910 as "National Metalizing Company"), Frankart (est. 1924), and Pompeian Bronze Company (est. 1889 as the "Galvano Bronze Company").. Bronze-toned Cast Metal. Near Fine. 4" x 3.5" x 7". .