Lot 238. Vũ Cao Đàm (1908-2000), Bust of a Young Indochinese Man, incised Vu Cao Dam and with mark Sèvres Manufacture France (lower back). Ceramic, Edition of Sèvres, 1934. Height 26 cm. Lot Sold 33,020 EUR (Estimate 20,000 - 30,000 EUR) © Sotheby's 2025

Provenance: Hotel Drouot, Paris, Etude Binoche, 17th February 1995, lot 78.
Collection of Christian Duc (1947-2013).
European Private Collection (acquired from the above).

Literature: Laurin Isabelle, Revue de la Société des Amis du musée national de Céramique n°17, 'Sèvres, années 30. Une exposition sur la séduction des matières', 2008. pp. 147-153, pl. 14.
Vũ Cao Đàm, Gent, 2024, pp. 38-39.

Note: Vũ Cao Đàm may be recognized for his paintings of romantic scenes of women and children in serene landscapes, or of the dreamlike paintings of men riding on horses, the artist was first and foremost a sculptor. Displaying an extraordinary talent as a sculptor at an early stage, Vũ Cao Đàm entered the Ecole des Beaux-arts de Indochine in 1926 and stood out for his gift for modelling and understanding of three dimensionality. Unlike Lê Phổ and Mai Trung Thứ who focused on two-dimensional painting and mediums, Vũ worked across various mediums and only focused on painting mid-career.

At only 23 years old, Vũ Cao Đàm was selected to participate in the important 1931 Paris Colonial Exhibition that showcased the best products of the French established Ecole des Beaux-arts. The principal at the time, Victor Tardieu, selected seven of Vũ Cao Đàm’s sculptures to display. Vũ’s sculptures were widely celebrated in the French press and among art critics. Vũ Cao Đàm then studied in Paris at the Ecole de Louvre between 1932-34 and submitted further sculptural works to the Salon des Artistes Francais, including portrait busts of the Vietnamese Emperor Bao Dai and a monumental Buddha image. His reputation as a sculpture led him to numerous commissions of important individuals.

In 1934, Vũ Cao Đàm signed a contract with the renowned Manufacture de Sèvres to produce an edition of a ceramic bust titled Bust of a Young Indo-Chinese Man. This piece is similar to an earlier bronze version of the same subject, which had debuted at the 1931 Paris Colonial Exhibition. The bronze bust is documented in Victor Tardieu’s official organizational report on the École des Beaux-Arts’ participation at the exhibition (INHA Victor Tardieu Archive, 125/7).

Sotheby's. Arts d'Asie, Paris, 12 June 2025