Lot 63: GEORGES CHEVALIER

The “Jets d’eau” chandelier, from the Baccarat-Christofle Pavilion, Paris
Produced by Compagnie des Cristalleries de Baccarat, France.

108 in. (274.3 cm.) drop, 78 in. (198.1 cm.) diameter

Crystal, brass.

1925

“Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes,” Baccarat-Christofle Pavilion, Esplanade des Invalides, Paris, April–October 1925

Baccarat-Christofle Pavilion, Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, Paris, 1925; purchased from the above by Frank Thring, Sr. for the Lobby of the Regent Theater, Sydney, Australia, 1928–1984

<em>Phillips de Pury and Company would like to thank Michaela Lerch and Sandrine Fritz of the Heritage Department at Baccarat, for their help in cataloguing this lot.</em>



Georges Chevalier (1894&#8211;1987) designed the present chandelier for the joint Baccarat-Christofle Pavilion at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts D&#233;coratifs et Industriels Modernes, Paris, where it hung in the building&#8217;s dome that summer and fall. Designed in the shape of a cascading fountain, the chandelier comprises 24 arms, 156 lights, and approximately 100,000 Baccarat crystals.


Viewed in situ during the Exposition, the chandelier was purchased by Mr. Frank Thring, founder of Hoyt&#8217;s Theaters in Australia. He shipped the work to his native Australia, where he installed it in 1928 for the grand opening of his flagship, the Regent Theater on George Street in Sydney. The &#8220;Jet d&#8217;Eau&#8221; enjoyed pride of place until 1984, when the theater was destroyed.


A graduate of the &#201;cole Nationale Sup&#233;rieure des Arts D&#233;coratifs and an associate of decorator Maurice Dufr&#232;ne, Chevalier brought a contemporary,modern focus to Baccarat, where he remained active until the 1970s.


A smaller, later version of the present chandelier hangs in the Salle G&#233;rard Garouste at the Mus&#233;e Baccarat, Place des &#201;tats-Unis, Paris.