Height: 24 in. (60.96 cm)
Width: 16 in. (40.64 cm)
Depth: 6 in. (15.24 cm)
Country of Origin: France
Style: Art Deco
Maker: Marcel-André Bouraine (1886-1948)
Condition: Mint
Year: 20th C.

A patinated and silvered bronze, frosted glass and ivory 'Harlequine' lamp. Cast and carved from a model by Marcel-André Bouraine, circa 1925.

Born in Pontoise (Seine-et-Oise), Marcel-André Bouraine studied at the École des Beaux-Arts under Jean-Alexandre-Joseph Falguière, who had reintroduced and emphasized realism in nineteenth century sculpture. He was captured in Germany during the First World War and interned in Switzerland. After the war, he returned to France and exhibited at the Salon des Tuileries in 1922. The following year Bouraine joined the Société des Artistes Français, exhibiting regularly at their Salons in Paris, as well as at the Salon d'Automne. He executed small-scale sculptures in bronze, ivory and ceramics for several French firms, including Susse Freres, Max Le Verrier, Etling and Arthur Goldscheider, often exhibiting with the latter's La Stele and L'Evolution groups in various international exhibitions, including the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Moderne, which gave its name to Art Deco.

In 1928, Gabriel Argy-Rousseau (1885-1953) commissioned several figurines from Bouraine, mostly female nudes, but also a large fountain and an illuminated group, all of which were executed in translucent pâte-de-cristal in lusciously rich colors such as purple, green, and pink. Bouraine executed two major commissions for the 1937 Paris International Exhibition: a polychrome cement low relief (twelve square meters in size) for a fountain at the crafts center and an earthenware statue representing ceramics for the Sevres Pavilion.

The female Harlequin figure is a character from the Italian Comedia del'Arte, whose mime tradition is the basis for much Western theater. The semi-circular base on which the figure stands is intended to evoke one of the many romantic bridges of Venice, while the woman herself reminds one of the costumed revelers at festive balls. The diamond pattern outfit worn by the figure alternates cold-painted sections with parcel-silvered ones, and the triangular designs on the metal sections of the light fittings echo the color combination of the marble base. The sculpture is cast by Etling.