As part of the sale dedicated to jewelry on Thursday, July 9, 2020, PIASA auction house offers for sale a necklace made by the artist Line Vautrin (1913-1977).
Daughter of an art bronze-maker, Line Vautrin left school at the age of 15. She created her first works before briefly collaborating with the house of Elsa Schiaparelli. The 1937 Universal Exhibition in Paris, where she had a stand, considerably increased her fame. She presented bronze buttons, but also necklaces, bracelets, earrings and many other fashion accessories.
At the age of 28, she opened her own shop on rue de Berri, just off the Champs-Élysées avenue frequented by all the good society. In the early 1940s, these boxes, including ashtrays, made her famous.
After moving to Casablanca in 1949, where the couple she formed with the painter Jacques-Armand Bonnaud (1917-1980) led a mundane existence, the artist became interested in a plastic material invented in 1865: cellulose acetate.
Line Vautrin used it in creations of all kinds including lamp bases, screens, tables and especially her famous mirrors. She opened a new shop at number 3 rue de l'Université, where she presents decorative objects and mirrors called "witch". Her clients include the writer Françoise Sagan, the actress Ingrid Bergman and the designer Yves Saint Laurent.
Line VAUTRIN (1913-1977)
Années 1940-1945.
Collier "Ramsès" en bronze argenté et émail bleu (quelques manques).
Non signée.
Longueur : 39 cm
The piece offered for sale on Thursday, July 9, 2020 was created during the occupation. The "Ramses" necklace is made of silvery bronze and boldly coloured with blue enamel. It is offered with an estimate of between 3,000 and 5,000 euros. In 1992, she was awarded the National Prize for Craftsmanship for her research on decoration techniques. She died suddenly of a heart attack on April 12, 1997, two years before her retrospective at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.
