Firestyle Magazine: Issue 6 - Winter 2016

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GENERAL INTEREST ART DECO b y N i c k F l e t c h e r Art Deco was a design movement which took hold soon after the First World War, and reached its crescendo in the late 1920s and early 1930s. It was a form of design rebellion against all that had gone before and consequently it can often look as bizarre as it is beautiful. 26
It is frequently a combination of abstract painting, Egyptian and Aztec style motifs, weird geometric shapes and patterns, and striking colour combinations. Yet it can also utilise the soft natural forms of flowers, trees and animals. Like its predecessor of twenty years earlier, Art Nouveau, which was popular around 1900, Art Deco manifests itself in both small ornamental items, furniture, and even buildings. Among the best known exponents of Art Deco are Rene Lalique, a Frenchman whose glass work is particularly admired, and also the British potter Clarice Cliff, whose offbeat designs and strong use of colour were a sensation when first produced and have won her an enduring following. There is a notable difference between the Art Deco of the 1920s and that of the 1930s. The twenties were a great age of fun, flappers danced the Charleston, the first talking film the Jazz Singer was astounding, Tutankhamen’s tomb was discovered – and in itself influenced the Art Deco movement. In the 1930s, many people saw the prospect of another world war in the offing, and thirties Art Deco is slightly less frivolous and has bolder, straighter, more precise lines and detail. Ironically, it was world war two which snuffed out the Art Deco movement. The whole Art Deco movement stemmed from an exhibition in Paris in 1925 which was called Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes. It’s easy to see why they shortened it to just Art Deco! The emphasis of this exhibition was to try to encourage the creation of an entirely new decorative style adapted to modern life, but still based on individuality and craftsmanship. Top jewellers such as Cartier produced art deco pieces, and so too did British based companies such as Royal Doulton. For a decade between about 1925 and 1935, Art Deco took Britain by storm, and reached its zenith with complete buildings being created in the Deco style. Notable examples include the BBC building in Portland Place, and the Hoover building at Perivale, in West London. These days almost anything Art Deco finds a ready market though prices can vary enormously. Furniture is especially sought-after, with fine examples fetching thousands of pounds. Pottery is also very popular for while Victoriana has become unfashionable, Art Deco design is still seen as cool and elegant. While it still possible to pick up interesting Art Deco vases, clocks and other small items by non-famous makers for £50-£100, finer pieces by noted designers and manufacturers can run to hundreds and often many thousands of pounds. Rare Clarice Cliff vases, for example have fetched as much as £20,000, though £1,000-£2,000 is more typical. 27
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Firestyle Magazine: Issue 6 - Winter 2016

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