Artist almost exclusively animal, very comfortable in monumental sculpture, Le Bourgeois became familiar with the tools of the sculptor from childhood in his father’s restoration workshop, who works for the Monuments Historiques and shared his taste for the Middle Ages. As early as 1910, he was noticed by the great Parisian sponsors, such as Jacques Doucet at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs for curious posts topped with carved wooden cats. He regularly presents panels depicting animals, and his decorative taste leads him to collaborate with Henri Rapin, whom he met in 1915, for the Pavillon of the Sèvres Manufacture during the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in 1925 The highly stylized and geometric lines of these beasts are perfectly connected to the context of Art Deco, which found new inspirations in the development of cubist forms.

The artist’s forms are to be compared with the geometric research of the Martel brothers, with whom Le Bourgeois collaborates at the chapel of the Normandie liner. Wood is his favourite material, which he uses for both decorative sculptures and furniture in which he addslow reliefs. He also offers architectural elements such as capitals or stair posts. Most of his low relief sculptures therefore favour the profile view, offering an archaising inspiration to his subjects.

Our table elephant belongs to this category. Perched on a pedestal with steps, this piece of furniture reminds, by its material and aesthetics, the colonial furniture. The first table of 1921 exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs was purchased by from Hubert Schlienger. A second one belonged to François Ducharne, collector of works by Rodin and Carrière. The third, ours, is that commissioned by Madame Vieillard in 1930.