JO. PAris 1924. Olympic Games, PARIS, 1924. Exceptional gian - Lot 335

Lot 335
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Estimation :
6000 - 8000 EUR
JO. PAris 1924. Olympic Games, PARIS, 1924. Exceptional gian - Lot 335
JO. PAris 1924. Olympic Games, PARIS, 1924. Exceptional giant bronze medal by Claude-Léon MASCAUX (1882-1965). This work officially celebrates polo at the Paris Games, those of the VIIIth Olympiad, and is part of an astonishing artistic contribution to the Olympic Arts Competitions created by Baron de Coubertin (1st edition in 1912). Indeed, if this sculptor is awarded in the sculpture competition, where he obtains the bronze medal (3rd ex-aequo with the Dane Gauguin) for a brilliant series of 7 medals associating the disciplines of the official program of the Games with the genius of certain insects or animals (the hare with the foot race, the swimming with the fish, the monkey with the gymnastics, etc), he dedicates this creation to the polo, present since the Games of 1900, and yet always a little marginal. This medal is also represented in the official report, with the portrait of the artist then aged 42 years. In pure art deco style, this polo player on his prancing horse, shown in profile on the right, is a vibrant tribute to a discipline that may be complex, but is essential. The United Kingdom has won medals in all five of the Games (1900, 1908, 1920, 1924, 1936), but polo has also involved teams from the United States, France, Germany, Argentina, Spain and Mexico. So much so that this work is the ambassador of these Five Games and Six Nations. A piece of 15,4 cm in diameter, and 316,4 grams !!... Well hung or on top of a nice table, it finds all the life that the sculptor gave it. This authentic museum piece could well be the seventh medal, which along with the six distinguished at the Games, earned Claude-Léon Mascaux a prize at the Grand Prix of the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in 1929. Rarer than a medal of Olympic champions, this work seems to be known only in two specimens, the first preserved in the Department of Coins and Medals of the Library of France, the second which you have in front of you. Signature halfway up the left side. Small precision, the competition of Olympic sculpture had mobilized 67 artists of 14 nations. Piece never seen on sale. Museum piece or high collection.
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