Not on display

We don’t have an image of this object online yet.

More about images

V&A Images may have a photograph that we can’t show online, but it may be possible to supply one to you. Email us at vaimages@vam.ac.uk for guidance about fees and timescales, quoting the accession number: S.917-2021

Le Dieu bleu

Hat
1912 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The headdress is part of the costume for one of numerous characters seen in the processions of the ballet, Le Dieu bleu, choreographed by Mikhail Fokine to music by Renaldo Hahn and first performed at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, on 13 May 1912. The ballet's importance lay in the magnificent designs by Leon Bakst and Vaslav Nijinsky's interpretation of the title role. As a production it was something of a failure that looked back to ballets of the 19th century. No specific dervishes are mentioned in the programme.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleLe Dieu bleu (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Silk, card, cotton, metal wire and wool
Brief description
Hat designed by Leon Bakst, worn by a 'dervish' in the production of Le Dieu bleu by Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, 1912
Physical description
Stiffened conical hat made by E. Landoff, Paris, the top part covered in primrose yellow silk, the lower in sky-blue silk with appliquéd bands of white wool interspersed with clusters of small white sequins. There is a rosette of flesh-pink coloured shells on the front. From the left side of the crown hang eight light-brown wool ropes, ending with blue pompoms.
Dimensions
  • Height: 23cm
  • Bottom of hat circumference: 62cm
  • Top of hat circumference: 50cm
  • Longest wool strand from top to blue ball length: 46cm
Credit line
Given by the Friends of the Museum of the Performing Arts
Object history
Purchased by the Friends of the Museum of the Performing Arts at Sotheby's auction of Costumes and Curtains from Diaghilev and de Basil's Ballets, Scala Theatre, London, 17 July 1968.
Summary
The headdress is part of the costume for one of numerous characters seen in the processions of the ballet, Le Dieu bleu, choreographed by Mikhail Fokine to music by Renaldo Hahn and first performed at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, on 13 May 1912. The ballet's importance lay in the magnificent designs by Leon Bakst and Vaslav Nijinsky's interpretation of the title role. As a production it was something of a failure that looked back to ballets of the 19th century. No specific dervishes are mentioned in the programme.
Collection
Accession number
S.917-2021

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdAugust 18, 2021
Record URL
Download as: JSON