Gilt bronze paper cut - maurice frécourt - period: early 20th century

Gilded bronze paper cut depicting an eagle with outstretched wings. Maurice frécourt began practicing in 1890, a date which is often wrongly given as that of his birth. His youth and enthusiasm allowed him to make a name for himself in the field of belle époque bronze arts. But it was from the salon of 1920 that he acquired fame and prestige, happily translating the hieratic imperatives of the art deco style into his vision of the animal world. His variations on the elephant, the panther and the monkey have become classics of stylized animal representation. Period: early 20th century dimensions: length: 26.5cm X width: 3cm signature: frécourt we find the paper cutter throughout history in many societies. It is therefore an emblematic object for literary people and other avid readers. At the time when books were simple hand-made collections of sheets, it happened that certain pairs of pages were intact, preventing their content from being read. The paper cutter then proved essential; its long thin blade slid along the edge to separate the pages. But the paper cutter was also used for more original purposes. Thus, at the beginning of the 20th century, dada artists used this object to choose the name of their movement. To do this, they slipped the utensil at random into a dictionary, and selected a word from the pages that the letter opener opened: “dada”. Today, the paper cutter is still used to separate the pages of old books; but its most common use is now opening letters or envelopes. Elegant on your desk, or stored on a shelf, the letter opener will not go unnoticed and will reveal your taste for sought-after aesthetics.

Ref. : VTX7GR48