A pair of silvered and patinated bronze pelicans with ivory beaks perched upon marble bases.  These stunning and quintessential Art Deco sculptures are exceptional to look at and, in fact, are very difficult to take one's eyes off.  These birds, by highly regarded French sculptor Marcel_André Bouraine, have been subject to a number of poor quality copies over the years, and appear to be more common than they actually are.  This one hundred percent original pair are of the highest quality casting by Bouraine himself.  They feature a hand engraved signature on the original marble bases by the sculptor himself.  The birds feature stamps displaying the original reference numbers on each bird, numbers 56 and 58.  Almost a consecutive pair, rare in itself, as well as being a much earlier number than any other that have surfaced.  This means that this pair are the original pair sold together, not matched later.  There is also the hand stamped, letter by letter, Made in France into the bronze.  The finish of these birds is completely original with black patinated wings and head and a silvered body.  There has been no attempt to clean the nearly one hundred years patina, and it adds to the allure of these stunning sculptures.  Cleaning them will also strip the original finishes to the bronze, and thus greatly reduce the value of them.

Born in 1886 in Pontoise, France, Marcel André Bouraine was pupil of Joseph-Alexandre Falguière.  He was taken prisoner by the Germans during the 1914-1918 war and was interned in Switzerland, where he produced several monuments.  He exhibited at the Salon des Tuileries in 1922 and the Salon d'Automne in 1923.  

He executed small-scale sculptures for several firms including Susse Frères, Etling, Arthur Goldscheider, and Max Le Verrier, who, along with Pierre Le Faguays, had a long relationship. often exhibiting with the latter's La Stele and L'Evolution groups. In 1928 Gabriell Argy-rousseau (1885-1953) commissioned a number of figurines from Bouraine, mostly female nudes, but also a fountain and an illuminated group, all of which were executed in colored, translucent pate de verre. He executed two major commissions for the 1937 Paris International Exhibition. Bouraine used a pseudonym which was Derenne, he may also have used Briand (Brian), as there is a definite connection between the two as can be seen in the hoop dancer by both artists, which appears to be identical.  He died in 1948.

These birds feature in an important book on Art Deco sculptures by V. Arwas (page 62) and show a pair in very much the same patina as this, and on the same green marble (verde marble).  This is a rare opportunity to acquire a true sculptural masterpiece from one of the most important sculptors of the twentieth century.  The condition of the birds are excellent, the bases show slight signs of wear, but being that they feature the original hand signed signature, it is best that they remain the perch upon which these pelicans rest.  Made in France, circa 1925.