Chevrons and Pyramids
Think “Age of Jazz”, then throw in some Egyptian influences and a generous handful of Studebaker car radiator grills and you have an idea of what makes Art Deco. Maputo has some great examples of Art Deco architecture and design. Some have recently received a new coat of paint and are looking splendid, and those that haven’t, still have the benefit of their original interiors. Art Deco buffs are guaranteed to be delighted and surprised at the variety of Art Deco here in Mozambique’s capital city.
Following the “leafy” Art Nouveau style, early Art Deco is typified by skyline castellation, chevron patterns, long windows on stairways and motifs associated with Tutankhamun. After his tomb was discovered in 1922 the world went pyramid mad! The first skyscrapers in the USA followed their ziggurat shapes (look at Maputo’s cathedral), and became prescribed by city planners in New York and Paris because the “wedding cake shape” allowed more sunlight to filter through to neighbouring streets.
Maputo’s Restaurant Costa do Sol, with its fantastic “sunburst” motif, lists in its menu eight buildings around the city as prime examples of the Art Deco style, and this set me on a mission to find them. What fun I had one Sunday morning, dragging a friend from her bed to go hunting. So which of Maputo’s buildings have the glamour and energy of Art Deco? We boast several swimming pools. The splendid Public Pool near Mimmos, with its blue and white curving balconies and scallop shell roofing, is symbolic because of the importance of sport and speed in art of the period.
At Clube dos Empresários you can imagine the stylised, glamorously costumed swimmers of Hollywood films forming synchronised, geometric shapes. Around the pool are rainbows of sweeping steps and wonderful classic pillars.
Cinema Gill Vicente, now also a live music venue, has a nice facade, with typical art Deco “V” shaped vertical lights. Inside is another treat: the Vitrolite sign for the ladies loo. My pilgrimage there with visitors is always met with quizzical looks from the cinema staff – especially when they are male! Round the corner is the Livestock Co-operative building which is such a treat with its glorious tiny balcony and fender topping – recently repainted in a pretty primrose yellow.
Antigo Edificao Velhos Colonos was the Old Colonial Club, renamed the Red Star when Frelimo took over. Comprising sports facilities, a children’s play area and an old people’s home, it is supreme Art Deco.
While Dublin has its grand doors, we have our stylish lamps. Two magnificent ones hang in what is now the Physical Education Building of the university. One is suspended above a double staircase and weighs the same as a small elephant. You hold your breath as you pass beneath, hoping it won’t come crashing down!
Camara do Comercio has some lovely lamps too (the guy there obligingly moves the screen out of the way to show them off to visitors). In Cine Africa, now home to the National Dance Company, huge jellyfish-like lamps cast light on the original deer motif wallpaper, etched glass panels and wonderful marble staircase. The neater and more demure lights of La Scala Cinema are also perfect Art Deco pieces.
You can only be amazed by the gold-leaf pillars, star painted ceiling and multi-coloured Vitrolite pagoda fountains in the former nightclub of Radio Mozambique, which is now a museum. It is like the foyer of the Strand Hotel in London which was, until recently, buried and forgotten in the basement of the Victoria & Albert Museum since 1968, when the style lost its popularity.
Good style comes round in circles. Art Deco is now back in fashion and you will certainly find a collection of beauties when you take a look round Maputo.
Jane Flood has lived in Maputo for almost five years and now runs regular walking tours around the city. Contact jane.flood@gmail.com for more information or to book your own tour.
Story by Jane Flood
