Vanity Case thumbnail 1
Vanity Case thumbnail 2
+6
images
On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

This object consists of 2 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

Vanity Case

ca. 1926 (made)
Artist/Maker
Lacloche Frères (maker)
Place of origin
Paris (made)

Jewelled vanity cases were popular accessories during the 1920s, an indication of the wider acceptability of women wearing make-up in the years after the First World War (and of their even applying it in public). This case contains two compartments for powder and rouge, a central detachable lip-stick holder, and a mirror inside the lid.

Object details

Categories
Images Online
Jewellery
Accessories
Object type
Vanity case
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Vanity Case
  • Case
Materials and techniques
Gold, with black-stained jadeite and black-backed chalcedony; the lid set with rose- and brilliant-cut diamonds, lapis lazuli, turquoise, malachite, rhodonite, mother-of-pearl and pearl
Gold
Jadeite
Chalcedony
Diamond
Lapis Lazuli
Turquoise
Malachite
Rhodonite
Mother of Pearl
Pearl
Brief description
Gold, with black-stained jadeite and black-backed chalcedony; the lid set with rose- and brilliant-cut diamonds, lapis lazuli, turquoise, malachite, rhodonite, mother-of-pearl and pearl, Lacloche Frères, Paris, about 1926
Dimensions
  • Length: 83mm
  • Width: 48mm
  • Depth: 18mm
Marks and inscriptions
  • LACLOCHE FRERES. PARIS (engraved inside lid)
  • Lozenge mark: 'SAM' with palette for Strauss, Allard et Meyer
  • London import marks for 18 carat gold, 1926-7, sponsor's mark 'GF' in a rectangle with cut corners for Georges Fischer (Fischer's mark was identified in the records at Goldsmiths' Hall, London, by Eleni Bide, Librarian of the Goldsmiths' Company. The mark was registered on 5 May 1920 (Book 20, folio 214). He is described as a 'Gold and Silver Worker', and his work address was initially given as 204, The Grove, Hammersmith; in 1924, as 35 Beak Street, W1; and in 1928, as 122 Great Tichfield Street, W1.)
  • Eagle's head in hexagon with numeral 3: the mark struck 3 times (3rd standard gold mark, France, from 1919)
  • Boar's head (French restricted warranty silver mark)
Gallery label
(2019)
Vanity case
France, Paris, about 1926;
made for Lacloche Frères by Strauss, Allard & Meyer
Gold, with black-stained jadeite and black-backed
chalcedony; the lid set with rose- and brilliantcut
diamonds, lapis lazuli, turquoise, malachite,
rhodonite, mother-of-pearl and pearl
London import marks for 1926–7
Museum no. M.24-1976
Bequeathed by Miss J.H.G. Gollan
Credit line
Bequeathed by Miss J.H.G. Gollan
Subject depicted
Floral Patterns
Summary
Jewelled vanity cases were popular accessories during the 1920s, an indication of the wider acceptability of women wearing make-up in the years after the First World War (and of their even applying it in public). This case contains two compartments for powder and rouge, a central detachable lip-stick holder, and a mirror inside the lid.
Bibliographic reference
Benton, Tim, Manuel Fontán del Junco and María Zozaya, eds. Modern Taste. Art Deco in Paris 1910 - 1935. Catalogue of the exhibition in Madrid: Fundación Juan March, March 26 - June 28 2015. Madrid: Fundación Juan March, 2015. ISBN 9788470756290
Collection
Metalwork Collection
Accession number
M.24-1976

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Record createdJanuary 20, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O73167/vanity-case-lacloche-frères/
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