Style Other / Ref.15272

Georges Marius BORETTI, Art Déco-style Mirror with Rugby Players, circa 1930

This mirror with a decoration of rugby players depicted in action was executed by Georges Marius Boretti around 1930.

The French sculptor Georges Marius Boretti (1908-?) created numerous sculpted decorations to adorn various Art Deco-style objects.

This Art Deco mirror frame was executed around 1930 in bronze; it still retains its original silver patina, echoing the silver threads of its original cord. It features beautiful low-relief sculptures. The sides are adorned with geometric decorations: a frieze carved with regular semicircles in depth, and rounded motifs of increasing size from top to bottom, with curves accentuated by striations. The center of the inner edge features a highly lively scene of a rugby confrontation. The scene follows a pyramidal composition: on the left, one player trying to tackle the ball holder is almost on the ground; in the middle, four other players attempt to recover the ball, while a slightly rearward player appears to be getting up, ready for action.

The intermingling of the players’ limbs is admirably depicted, and the faces are expressive. The presence of their reflection in the mirror adds depth to the scene, as well as the enlargement of the mirror by the play of curves, which allows positioning the players on several levels. Although the roots of rugby date back to the Middle Ages, its rules were codified between 1845 and 1848 by students at Rugby School and the University of Cambridge in Great Britain. This team sport, most often played with seven or fifteen players, is characterized by the oval shape of the ball, passes played strictly backward, the use of tackles, and the organization of scrums. At the Olympic Games, it was initially rugby union that was played (in 1900, 1908, 1920, and 1924), and then, after a long absence, rugby sevens has been played since the 2016 edition. Boretti provides a vivid and accurate representation here, clearly showing the physical confrontation that this sport entails.

There is another mirror with an identical frame, sold at auction in 2015 by Aguttes; it was identified as “French work, 1930”. The curvature of this mirror echoes the pyramidal composition of the sculpted bas-relief of the frame.