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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.952-2021

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Record createdAugust 23, 2021
Record URL
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