HERMES Vintage Silver Plate Hammered Small Ball Vase
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor usual scratches/scuffs/usual silver plate oxidation throughout - see pictures. Wear/oxidation on the inner side (see pictures 6 and 7). Please note that the black patina on the body of the vase is from original manufacturing.
- Seller Location:Nice, FR
- Reference Number:
Hermès
For Hermès, what began as a maker of leather equestrian goods for European noblemen would eventually grow into one of the most storied fashion labels in the world. In 1837, German-born French entrepreneur Thierry Hermès opened a saddle and harness purveyor in Paris. Gradually, the house extended into accessories and luggage for its riders, and today, in paying homage to its origins, the family-run luxury brand resurfaces horse motifs in everything from clothing and modernist jewelry to pillows and handbags.
The first top-handled bag ever produced by Hermès was the Haut à courroies, which made its debut in 1892. A tall bag secured with a folded leather flap (fastened with bridle-inspired straps), it was designed to transport riding boots and a harness. As the world made the switch from horse to automobile, the bag adapted, becoming a multifunctional travel satchel instead of a designated saddlebag. Today, 120 years later, the HAC remains in Hermès’s line — and its distinctive flap and clasping straps have laid the groundwork for some of the house’s other iconic bags.
In the 1930s, Robert Dumas (son-in-law to Émile-Maurice Hermès, Thierry’s grandson) designed a smaller, trapezoidal take on the flap bag with a handle and two side straps. Later, actress Grace Kelly, then engaged to Prince Rainier of Monaco, is said to have used one of these bags to conceal her pregnancy during the 1950s. Because she was photographed constantly, the coverage catapulted her handbag to international popularity. In 1977, Hermès officially renamed the model for her, and the Kelly bag was born. Each Kelly bag takes between 18 and 25 hours to produce, and its 680 hand stitches owe solely to one Hermès artisan.
Robert Dumas was also responsible for another one of the brand’s most iconic offerings: the launch of its first silk scarf on the occasion of Hermès’s 100th anniversary in 1937. Based on a woodblock designed by Dumas and printed on Chinese silk, the accessory was an immediate hit.
Today, vintage Hermès scarves, typically adorned in rich colors and elaborate patterns, serve many functions, just as they did back then. Well-heeled women wear it on their heads, around their necks and, in a genius piece of cross-promotion, tied to the straps of their Hermès bags. Kelly even once used one as a sling for her broken arm.
In 1981, Robert Dumas’s son Jean-Louis Dumas, then Hermès chairman, found himself sitting next to French actress and musician Jane Birkin on a plane, where she was complaining about finding a suitable carryall for the necessary accoutrements of motherhood. After the two travelers were properly introduced, Birkin helped design Jean-Louis’s most famous contribution to the Hermès canon: the Birkin bag, a roomy, square catchall with the HAC’s trademark leather flap top and the addition of a lock and key. Owing to the brand’s legendary commitment to deft, handcrafted construction, the Birkin is an investment that is coveted by collectors everywhere.
While the Kelly and Birkin may be standouts, gracing the arms of everyone from royal heiresses to hip-hop stars in the past few decades, the handbags are but a small part of Hermès’s fashion offerings. Since the 1920s, the brand has produced some of the most desirable leather goods in the world. There’s the Constance bag, a favorite of Jacqueline Kennedy, the recently relaunched 1970s-era Evelyne and, on the vintage market, a slew of designs dating back to the 1920s.
Good design never goes out of style. Find a variety of vintage Hermès handbags, day dresses, shoes and more on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Nice, France
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 2 days of delivery.
- HERMES Vintage Silver Plate Chain VaseBy HermèsLocated in Nice, FRHERMES vintage silver plate vase featuring a chain detail. Embossed HERMES PARIS. Indicative measurements : height approx. 16.1 cm (6.34 inches) / diameter of the base approx. 7.6 ...Category
20th Century French Vases
- Hermes A Sporting Life Jumping RopeBy HermèsLocated in Nice, FRHERMES Paris wood handle and leather jumping rope. Marked HERMES 2013 Made in France. Embossed Chic, le sport ! A sporting life. Indicative measurements : ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Toys
- Gianni Versace Couture Native American Print Cotton Denim Jeans, F / W 92 / 93By Gianni VersaceLocated in Nice, FRGianni Versace Couture iconic native American print cotton denim jeans from the 1992-1993 Fall/Winter Collection. These jeans feature : - Opulent all over multicolored print on a wh...Category
20th Century Italian Pants
- Chanel Rare Jewelled Eagle Black and Gold Runway Belt or NecklaceBy ChanelLocated in Nice, FRCHANEL rare gold toned chain belt with black interwoven leather featuring a large jewelled eagle. Focal point of the CHANEL 2001 Spring runway show. May be worn as a belt or neckla...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Belts
- Hermes Vintage Kachina LeggingBy HermèsLocated in Nice, FRHERMES vintage rare legging featuring Kachinas designed by native Texan artist KERMIT OLIVER. This legging depicts ceremonial spirit dancers according to western Pueblo religious be...Category
20th Century French Pants
- Gianni Versace Couture Iconic Fall/Winter 1991/92 Teather Drape Print JacketBy Gianni Versace, Gianni Versace CoutureLocated in Nice, FRGIANNI VERSACE COUTURE vintage iconic theater drape print wool jacket. From the Fall/Winter 1991/92 Collection. I Sipari / Theater Drapes print from Theater series...Category
20th Century Italian Blazers
- Carder Steuben Rare ThickLipWrapApplication CrystalCased Amethyst Bubbly VaseBy Steuben GlassLocated in Chicago, ILThis antique ArtDeco-period Steuben mostly purple glass vase designed by its co-founder Frederick Carder is a colorless-crystal-cased "Transparent Amethyst Bubbly" type with colorless crystal decoration including a rare cut lip-wrap with thick undulating application that adds up to a 3.5-inch-diameter flat rim, along with a smooth casing over a rare see-through twisted linear air-trap pattern with a wider 4-inch hip near the footless bottom. Weighing 625 grams, the short heavy vase is a hybrid matching Steuben shape-numbers 7273 with its variety of colorless cut-crystal lip-wrap decoration and 7036 with its colorless cut-crystal casing. These like forms were produced in multiple colors/shading and patterns with or without a foot and/or decoration in a wide variety of hybrid techniques that are characteristic of the designs by Carder. The 7000 series was among the last produced by Carder before his 30 years as artistic director since 1903 came to an end based on the board decision of Steuben parent-company Corning Glass Works to abandon color by 1933 and move forward using only progressive optical glass with colorless brilliance. The Carder Steuben Glass Association has published for its online shape-index a handful of approximately 10-inch-tall 7273/7036 versions, along with similar shorter shapes like the 8.25-inch 7083 vase and 7 5/8-inch 7206 "Bubbly" vase, along with the much earlier 1153 salt-and-pepper shakers of about half that size but of unlimited dimensions in a vague line drawing. A photo of one 1153-variation shows them with perforated metal caps at 3.5-inches tall in "Transparent Amethyst" like our vase, but with optic ribs instead of air-trapping. Despite the early line drawing, it is most likely that our vase was made in the late 1920s to early 1930s when Carder designed air-trap pieces with coarser glass particles and heavier crystal casing and applications. In the 1974-published book featuring only museum-quality glass works, Steuben: Seventy Years of American Glass Making, its pages 42-43 highlight a similar unmarked photographed Cluthra vase...Category
Early 20th Century American Vases
- Hermes Porcelain Balcon du Guadalquivir vase, small modelBy HermèsLocated in Nicosia, CYPreloved, never used with box. Porcelain. Height: 12.5 cmCategory
2010s European Vases
- 1950s Napcoware Lady Head VaseLocated in Greenport, NY1950s Napcoware Lady Head Vase Adorable 1950s Blonde Lady Head Vase with Long Eyelashes, Pink Coat, Pearl Earrings, Gold Accents on Blouse, and Black ...Category
1950s Japanese Vases
- 1940s Lady Head VaseLocated in Greenport, NY1940s Lady Head Vase 1940s Lady Head Vase with Green Hat and Bow Labeled Relpo Japan on the Bottom Some slight paint fading on the top of the hat, and on...Category
1940s Vases
- 1950s Lady Head Vase with Pearl EarringsLocated in Greenport, NY1950s Lady Head Vase with Pearl Earrings by Relpo, Japan. Adorable 1950s lady head vase with dangling pearl earrings and elaborate collar. She stand...Category
1950s Japanese Vases
- LE Smith Vintage Swung Bittersweet Orange VaseLocated in Greenport, NYLE Smith Vintage Swung Bittersweet Orange Vase Beautiful glass pedestal vase by LE Smith circa 1960s. 15 inches tall with 6 petal design.Category
1960s Vases
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
The Hermès Passe-Guide Bag Might Not Be as Well Known as the Birkin or Kelly, But It’s Every Bit as Chic
Find out why this under-the-radar piece is so exceptional.
How to Spot a Fake Hermès Birkin Bag
The iconic Birkin bag is much coveted — and often copied. Find out how to tell the real deal from a convincing fake. Of course, you don't have to worry about this on 1stDibs, where every seller is highly vetted.