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Couture 1937-40 ElsaSchiaparelli MarcelVertes Harlequin Duck GlazedCeramicBrooch

Name: Couture 1937-40 ElsaSchiaparelli MarcelVertes Harlequin Duck GlazedCeramicBrooch
Brand: Elsa Schiaparelli
Price: 39680.58 AUD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 5 (1 reviews)

About the Item

Between the first ad campaign that legendary fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli (1890-1973) commissioned from internationally-admired Paris-based Hungarian-born multimedia artist Marcel Vertes (1895-1961) for her blockbuster perfume "Shocking" in 1937 and in 1940 when they left France after launching her perfume "Sleeping" shortly before the Nazi occupation during WWII, the illustrator-cum-ceramist distinctly handmade, while traditional materials for couture costume-jewelry were scarce in Paris, this whimsical red glazed ceramic brooch depicting a duck holding a "wet" umbrella dripped with dashes of turquoise or black glaze. Significantly, the trombone clasp of the brooch pin, the long-pronged gilt frame, and the text stamped on its back plate "Made In France" match a similarly sized glazed-ceramic brooch of a decoratively-chained bear that was published in the book Bijoux (page 146). The author Deanna Farenti Cera dated that likewise unbranded unsigned brooch to 1938 when it was commissioned for one of Schiaparelli's fashion shows themed "Circus". The invitation to that show, which was illustrated with circus characters and performing animals by Vertes' Parisian peer Christian Berard, included a domesticated white duck--notably not holding nor wearing a fashion accessory. Unusually, Schiaparelli had commissioned couture umbrellas from other artisans in the 1930s--a couple of which were acquired by TheMet museum. Another relevant Met acquisition of the designer's couture evening gown, which it dates to Summer 1940, features three large glazed-ceramic fasteners in a contrasting color matching our brooch. The like findings, materials, construction, text, object, and palette aside, accessory-adorned ducks were also among the figurative animals commissioned by Schiaparelli for that last collection before the Germans dominated Paris by June 1940, which is evidenced by the photo of the dated gilt hatpin depicting a bejeweled head with a bill that appears in the book by Patrick Mauries about another Schiaparelli-associated French parurier Lina Baretti (pages 124-125). See our other listing for one of Baretti's uniquely feathered designs, which likewise has a pronged gilt frame with trombone clasp like ours, but whose partridge subject best suits an earlier Schiaparelli collection for Fall 1938 titled "Pagan". For us, distinguishing our brooch from other one-of-a-kind ceramic pieces created for Schiaparelli couture since 1931 by a handful of commissioned European artists and paruriers--also including Alberto Giacometti, Jean Cocteau, Jean Schlumberger, Francois Hugo, Lucien Neuquelman and Jean Clement--was rather simple because the duck figure and its red umbrella reflect both the streamlined cute anthropomorphized characters and fashion-accessory motifs that were unique to Vertes images during his ongoing multimedia work with Schiaparelli through the early 1950s. In several of the surreal ads that Vertes illustrated over the course of more than a decade for Schiaparelli perfumes, he prominently featured red-tone umbrellas in the etherial scenes, such as one held by an anthropomorphized female-mannequin-shaped "Shocking" perfume bottle on an outdoor walk with a larger bottle; or another shielding a like bottle laying on a turquoise beach towel; or a flower-like one shading a partly dressed nymph led by a playful loosely-defined small creature like our duck. To recognize Vertes' comic touch in our brooch, see our photos of some of his published works: In the 1944 tabletop book Art & Fashion that he wrote and illustrated, our snap shows a two-page spread featuring two street-scene cartoons, in which the eyes of the humans are omitted like our eyeless duck. One sketch shows an abstracted person in a downpour extending an umbrella like a doorman to shield a bare leg in high heels emerging from a car. The other sketch depicts a dog improbably wearing a skirt while being walked by a fashionable woman ironically dressed in printed fabric resembling a spotted Dalmation. Additionally, we photographed one of his sketches of small animals dancing while wearing fashion items, which conjures an act orchestrated by circus performers. But instead of being a Schiaparelli commission for "Circus", our amusing web-footed bird brooch most likely represents a small sea-faring Harlequin Duck, which was given its common name based on a colorful character of the centuries-old form of Italian comic theater Commedia dell' Arte. Italian-born Schiaparelli made it the theme of her Spring 1939 collection "Commedia dell' Arte", as well as used it for the subject of another commission of Vertes for a painted multi-panel screen to decorate her home. Considering that both Vertes and Schiaparelli often traveled in the 1930s between Paris and New York by ship via the Atlantic Ocean, our duck seems to have been clever self-mockery of the seasonal "across the pond" lifestyle of the fashion elite. Vertes' art remains synonymous with fashionable high-society New Yorkers and Parisians since his prominent murals still decorate Manhattan's Cafe Carlyle cabaret at the venerable Upper East Side hotel, while his sketches since the 1920s immortalize many of the patrons at Maxim's restaurant and other 20th-Century French social hubs like the circus. In comparison to a well-documented "Commedia dell' Arte" gilt-metal brooch commissioned by Schiaparelli of Jean Schlumberger, who also used birds as subjects for jewelry, the future Tiffany&Co artistic director created an enameled human-male masked figure with visible eyes dressed as a Harlequin Clown in a costume featuring pink and black triangles--a more realistic direction, not unlike Berard's aforementioned invitation illustration of a white duck, that lacks the surrealism of Vertes. Glazed ceramics by Vertes featuring almost abstract paintings of animals, some also with eyes omitted, are well documented from later in his career when he returned to live in France after a decade spent in New York since WWII. But by the early 1950s, when a "Made In France" stamp would have been appropriate again to identify the origin of a new costume-jewelry commission of Vertes, Schiaparelli had closed her Parisian couture house to pursue multimedia projects. Representing Schiaparelli's closest and most lauded collaboration with any artist, their final creative project was for the 1952 American movie directed by John Houston, "Moulin Rouge", which won the duo "Best Costume Design" from both the American and British film academies, while Vertes picked up an additional award for the film sets as "Best Art Direction". The House of Schiaparelli today prominently features multiple paintings and ads by Vertes on its website, including some of the late fashion designer's favorites, like her gouache portrait and a gifted collage featuring miniature images of some of her significant fashion designs set in a surreal landscape. The artistic multimedia fashion projects with Vertes, which began while Schiaparelli was the most internationally acclaimed fashion designer in the late 1930s, are only rivaled in the 20th Century by the more brief one enjoyed by Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel (1883-1971) and Fulco di Verdura (1898-1978), whose 1930s goldsmithing style continues to be reproduced in limited editions by his eponymous fine-jewelry company in New York City that changed hands after he retired. For more information about their comparable French couture costume jewelry, please see our most valuable listing for the extremely rare early-1930s Byzantine-style yellow-gold gilt brooch, which resembles The Purple Heart U.S.-military medal, that was commissioned by Chanel and distinctly decorated with gems and Baroque flourishes by Verdura before he relocated to America. Since Sotheby's sold a Schiaparelli-commissioned metal-insect-adorned rhodoid choker by lesser known Jean Clement from her Fall 1938 "Pagan" collection for 85,000 euro in 2018, while a decade ago Christie's sold the aforementioned "Commedia dell' Arte"-themed screen for $27,800, we price our Harlequin Duck brooch on the low side for the buyer who values the hallmarks of Vertes in a pre-WWII Parisian couture commission by Schiaparelli, despite its unclear provenance prior to our acquisition.

Creator:
Elsa Schiaparelli
Metal:
Gold,Yellow Gold,Gilt Metal
Weight:
10 g
Dimensions:
Width: 1.5 in (38.1 mm)Depth: 0.5 in (12.7 mm)Length: 2.5 in (63.5 mm)
Style:
Artisan
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
1930-1939
Date of Manufacture:
1937-1940
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Chicago, IL
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU3244222890572

Shop All Elsa Schiaparelli

Elsa Schiaparelli

From her signature color Shocking Pink to her collaborations with Surrealist artists, the boldly original Elsa Schiaparelli transformed fashion with her haute couture house from the late 1920s to the early ’50s. Experimenting with elements like trompe l’oeil images and colorful visible zippers, the Italian designer instilled a provocative avant-garde artistry in her clothing and accessories, including those created with Salvador Dalí, such as the lobster dress and a hat shaped like a shoe.

Born in Rome, Schiaparelli was a rebellious child who grew up among the city’s intellectual elite. She had a voracious appetite for reading and became interested in ancient cultures, astronomy and world religions. Schiaparelli studied philosophy at the University of Rome, and after publishing a collection of poems on love and sensuality that so mortified her conservative parents that they tried, unsuccessfully, to confine her to a Swiss convent, she left for London.

A quick marriage to Count Wilhelm de Wendt de Kerlor brought her to New York, but it would be in Paris following her divorce that Schiaparelli embraced her artistic passions. She moved to the French capital city in 1922 with her young daughter and happened to meet master couturier Paul Poiret, who loaned the stylish Schiaparelli his clothes, sparking her own fashion interests.

Schiaparelli opened her modest atelier in Paris and debuted her first collection of knitwear in 1927, and later that year, she designed a black-and-white pullover hand-knit wool sweater featuring a trompe l’oeil bowknot that captured the attention of the fashion world. Vogue called it “an artistic masterpiece.” The success led to her moving her house to 21 Place Vendôme in 1935 where thousands of garments were produced each year.

Schiaparelli’s knitwear collections were later accompanied by revolutionary swimsuits and other clothing and accessories. Her inventive designs would include culottes — a radical statement in the 1930s when women still could cause a scandal by wearing pants — as well as printed fabric, such as the 1938 Tears dress with a print designed by Dalí making it appear as if the evening gown had been savagely ripped.

Schiaparelli was among the first designers to use materials like rayon and Lurex as well as explore wrap dresses and transparent raincoats. She also introduced unisex fragrances and brought her artistic partnerships into jewelry, such as bronze brooches made with Alberto Giacometti and fur-lined bracelets with Méret Oppenheim. As she wrote in her 1954 autobiography Shocking Life, women should “dare to be different.”

Despite her acclaim, her shop closed in 1954 after a tumultuous time during World War II. By then, fashion had moved on with Christian Dior's New Look, and the closure of Schiaparelli's business coincided with a comeback mounted by Coco Chanel, her archrival in the early days.

In 2006, Italian businessman Diego Della Valle acquired the brand and its archives, and the Maison Schiaparelli was reopened in 2012, back at 21 Place Vendôme where Schiaparelli's fearless and enduring work began.

Find vintage Elsa Schiaparelli hats, evening dresses and other clothing and accessories on 1stDibs.

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