A tie pin is an accessory commonly used by men that had a hit back in the 20s. This tiny piece clips the tie to the shirt so it can’t move. Sometimes, the movement makes it be in a funny position… This simple jewel will give a man’s outfit a formal and elegant look.
The tiny pin is made in gold or silver, with a head in different sizes but always richly decorated. The head has as much variety of motives as the master’s creativity, although the common pin is garnished with precious or semiprecious stones, enamel or pearls.
The only issue a tie pin has is the tiny whole it makes over the silk in the tie. After a long-time use, it may be damaged. However in the end of the day it’s a discrete vintage accessory that works better than the modern pins.
Harper’s Bazar has counted on us once again in the last edition. This article was however really special since the photographer was Alberto Garcia-Alix, one of my favourite Photography National Award winners.
His muse was this time Violeta Sanchez, also Helmut Newton’s muse and friend and one of the most acclaimed Yves Saint Laurent, Moschino and Jean Paul Gaultier’s stars. This Franco-Spanish model and actress is the history of fashion herself.
Here’s the link to our section with the Spanish Mantillas and shawls with those samples used for this outstanding fashion post.
Mata Hari’s story is the cronique of a lie. A well planned lie though that drove half Europe crazy during the World War. This great Dutch impostor, whose real name was Margaretha Geertruida Zelle, was in fact a liar since she was a child. She wasn’t a dancer, nor had Hindu origins and she had no training as a spy.
However her skills were obvious to many men in the time. Maybe as a fiction writer she would’ve become into a acclamed artist, but the reality is that she died facing an execution squad when she only was. By then, she already was a myth. She was obsessed with soldiers. She used to say: I’d prefer to be a poor solider’s lover rather than a wealth banquer’s.
Her baptise as Mata Hari happened in Paris. She arrived to the city of the lights from the Dutch East Indies, where she had been living after getting married to a 18 years old soldier. This marriage was like a launch pad for her and was the first stone of the cathedral of lies.
In 1902 she left her husband and a daughter and went back to Europe with the idea of succeeding in Paris with her new Hindu identity and under the name of Mata Hari (the day’s eye). Parisian’s fell soon in love with this dark-haired exotic woman who used to swing her hips to show her perfect body.
She managed to have many protectors and contracts in different European cities, but the World War started when she was in Berlin. There she was the Police Manager’s lover and after that she was the lover of the German cónsul in Amsterdam, the chief of all spionage…
It was actually him who thought of Mata Hari to obtain information from the French soldiers. This way she became into the Agent H-21. She was so ambitious that never thought it twice being a double agent, even though her life was in risk. It’s said she offered herself as a spy to the French Captain Ledoux, who was on charge of the French spionage. He accepted although he kept an eye on her since he already knew her fame. Other theories say she talked to him to get a letter-of-safe-conduct to travel to a different city in order to see a second lover. During the interview the French Captain offered her to spy for them.
Then her adventures with many officers around Europe began. The web she built with each one she was with ended up turning against herself. She was put under arrest and interviewed. Apparently during this inverview she said her most famous phrase: A whore? Maybe, but never a traitor!
She was accused of treason by France and sentenced to death, despite the fact that they never had enough proof of her crime. In 1917 Mata Hari was executed. She didn’t want her eyes to be bandaged, so she could see straight to the officers’ eyes one more time. Rumors say she even launched a last a provocative Kiss.
Nobody claimed her body. A huge irony for a woman whose body had been idolized. Greta Garbo popularized her in cinema in the 30’s.
If you follow my blog very closely, you already know how excited I am with this project and how I love to closet he month with my photograph emulating a Baroque Still Even.
This month I had the chance of seeing the five previous photographies printed. I can ensure you the feeling I had when I saw them over paper had nothing to do with admiring the final result on a screen.
If I remember correctly, I told you before my inspiration comes from the painting of “vanity”, where luxurious scenes of fruits and flowers share the space with books, jars, coins, jewelry, paintings and musical or scientific instruments. All of them are objects with symbolic meanings. Here’s the link to our first article where we explained the project in detail.
Now the project is in its halfway point. I can’t help but buying books and books about antique paintings and keep enjoying every spare moment I have to learn about the huge masters of the Baroque painting.
June is dedicated to maternity, and Hera and Juno are my inspiration. June also is the month of pearls and roses.
Last Sunday, with our thermometers close to 40 degrees in Madrid, Hera was born: “Quod adfert tum lumen”
Remember that every fotography is unique and has been made after a precise study and planification.
In jewelry this term “string” is used to define a row of beads linked by a thread.
We can differenciate strings with pearls, corals, gold or any other material that can be carved with a whole in the middle in order to let the thread go through and therefore make necklaces or bracelets out of it.
In Salamanca and Leon (Spain), “string” is sort of necklace with strung beads with no high value.
Commonly the verb “to string” is used to define the action of sewing or weaving a string of pearls.
We are truly glad to introduce the first ring for men we add to our Vintage Collection, the reproduction of a vintage piece that was worn by Cardinal Bernardo Dovizi in this superb Raphael’s painting.
This classic and restrained composition is a great portrait, a master piece where we can see the Cardinal seated with his robes and grabbing a goblet in silver in his right hand.
I’m sure you didn’t miss the bright of the red silk and the texture in his robes. It’s just amazing. His deep-looking face shows a minor gesture with his mouth like telling you “I’m superior”.
Well, this Cardinal is wearing three rings, all of them will arrive this month to our vintage space.
Dovizi was the Pope Leon X secretary for a while and later he became the representant in France. It was around this time when he posed for one of the big masters of the Italian Rennaissance.
Cardinal Bernardo Dovizi was extremely inteligent and a brilliant humanist in his time, with a special taste for Literature. He even was the author of “The Calandria”.
Since he was a close friend to Raphael, he not only ordered this portrait to the artista but the decoration of the most beautiful and symbolic rooms in the Vatican.
For this project, Raphael counted on the help of one of his outstanding disciples: Giovanni de Udine. It was 1519 back then.
Giovanni had successfully used the technique with stucco, he even made up his own system with lime of Travertino. His master Raphael loved this discovery so he decided to count on him to decorate the three rooms in the Vatican: the stufetta (bathroom), the Loggetta and the Loggia.
Cardinal’s stufetta is particularly shocking: the decoration is a bit too much intimate and even erotic. The theme is the life of Venus and her relationship with the rest of the gods, a matter too erotic for the time, so they finally decided to cover the stuffeta with wood and make of it a little chapel.
Cardinal Bernardo was so happy with the result of the paintings that he decided to marry Raphael to his niece Mary, however this was not possible since he died before the ceremony.
And today we want to inmortalize part of Raphael’s work with this simple and classical piece of jewelry.
Let me put this image in your head: long needles usually decorated in one of the two ends with stones in different colors. Women used them both to hold a bun on top of the head or to just dress it.
The term describe perfectly the use we give to this vintage jewel.
It’s a piece of jewelry women use still today, specially in the Spanish are of Valencia, thanks to their popular tradition. In fact, the pics we are enclosing are about a few pieces from Maria Casanova’s family collection.
This month Boston is the heart of our recommended exhibition. Restoring a Legacy: Rothschild Family Treasures bring us to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston – opened until next July 5th – a magnificent European show with beauties looted by the Nazi during the II World War, but returned to its owner in the last years: the Baron and Baroness of Rothschild of Vienna.
The exhibit consists of 186 objects of art, and among them you’ll find jewelry, decoration objects, furniture, miniatures and even books belonging to the Viennese family. What we’ve found specially interesting though is the Baroness’ personal collection with 80 objetcs, including an outstanding and beautiful jewelry from the time.
We’d like to highlight out of all jewels exposed a tiara – and necklace at the same time – from 1920 made out of 9 pear-shaped diamonds and also an Art-Decó brooch with two emeralds from 1937. However all pieces are worth of being admired since they are an excellent working of precious metals, like gold, agate, lacquer, enamel or gemstones.
The Rothschild family
The Rothschild are descendants of a court jew (kind of banker from the time) from Frankfurt who set up a very prosperous banking business in Austria in 1760. However his greatest success was to stablish an international banking system through his 5 sons, who finally became nobles and received the titles of Barons.
They reached so much power and influence that in France and Austria the Rothschild pressured to build and fund the railway and in general, all of them were somehow involved in the precious metals business, with a special taste for gold. It’s said they brought together the biggest private fortune in recent history.
In 1938 the Rothschild lost all their interests in Austria to the Nazi, what meant the end of over a century of being the heart of banking in Central Europe. After this happened, the family broke apart.
Nowadays, even though they are equally (or more) well known, their patrimony and dedication is now headed to a different field: banking and investment.
Thanks to the efforts of this family and some other movements like Monuments Men and Woman in Gold, it is known the pillaging made by the Nazi during the II World War. And thanks to them this amazing collection has been able to be shown.
Back in the beginning of the 20th century, a powerful member of the royalty met a really beautiful – but modest origins- lady. He fell in love with her almost inmediately. Without much hesitation, he asked her to marry him. So far, this looks like the typical story through the years, but in this case, to Anita Delgado (born in Malaga in 1890) was not fiction, but the summary of her life.
When she still was young, she left her job as a singer in Madrid to get married to the maharajah of Capurthala. Anita was a “cupletista” for a living (kind of traditional singer in Spain). She used to work with her sister. Both were the duet “Camelias Sisters”. Back then she was only 16, but her life radically changed soon enough.
During the King Alfonso the 13th got married, she was hired as a singer. The rajah saw her on his way to the Royal Palace. To him it was a first sight love. According to Elisa Vázquez, princess of Kapurthala’s biographer, the maharajah arrived in an impressive carriage, wearing plenty of jewelry and a turban. But he couldn’t look apart from Anita. After just a few days, one of his assistants came with a petition of marriage. He asked her to go to Paris together with her family to plan the wedding.
She said yes. The scenerio, the French capital became this way into part of this amazing story. It was there where they got married before they moved to Bombay, the trip of her life. The fact that the maharajah already had others wives and sons didn’t matter to Anita.
After the wedding, she oficially was titled the first wife. The couple – that used to frequently travel to Europe – was always followed and admired by photographers of the time.
Anita had a boy, Ajit, and she was living a life of royal parties, receptions, trips and a very strict protocol. The many pictures of the time show a very elegant woman with a remarkable look.
Over those years, the Spanish princess wrote a diary that finally was published: The impressions of my trips to India. Her sister’s death (she still was very close to her) and many health issues – including a miscarriage and a long convalescence far from her husband – ruined what seemed to be a perfect life.
Anita ended up separating from the maharajah and came back to Europe. Over there, she had a very hectic social life, always in touch with intelectuals and celebrities until the II World War.
Anita spent the rest of her days with Gines Rodriguez, who she met many years before when she still lived in Malaga. She always wanted to write her memories, but death came in 1962 and she couldn’t make it.
The legacy of her memos, photos, missives and other documents went to her niece Victoria, who trust Elisa Vazquez to be the oficial biographer of Anita’s life. Her fascinating life has also inpired the writer Javier Moro, author of Indian Passion.
Abigail Holmes chose for her wedding silk in golden color, which makes her different from the rest of the gown samples we’ve seen in this section “Iconic Wedding Dresses”.
Abigail was married with Clark S. Potter in October 1839 in New York and she chose an open neckline design with a bell-shaped skirt and a very tight bodice. I love that kind of designs with pleated sleeves tight over the elbow and also to the wrist.
Right those years fashion about sleeves was changing to a less bulky around the shoulders. That way that part of the body was better highlighted. Years after, sleeves started getting narrower and many women adapted their dresses to the new trend.
This dress seems to be more a daily piece rather than a wedding dress. It’s not presumptuous or ostentatious which is the opposite to the rest of the dresses we’ve seen here over the past few months. As decorations there are just a few simple wrinkles and a garland strategically set. Although this is not the only gown in color we’ve seen, if you remember the Mary Waters’ made almost a century before.
The selection of such a dark color was totally unusual for brides back in the time. Take into account the white silk was more expensive than silk in color and besides the cleaning was harder in a clear dress.
Abigail was probably the most realistic woman we’ve known so far, since she opted for a dress she perfectly could use after the ceremony for other uses. Her decision was also based on the fact that the couple was going to make a cruise right after the wedding. A golden-colored dress is more practical to travel. Actually the young bride also ordered a cape in the same fabric.
I couldn’t find much more info about the Holmes family. Although they were not rich, Mr. And Mrs. Potter prospered over the years. In the Federal Census of United States (1860) they were written to be living with their 8 sons in Albion. Clark Potter was a Rental Office employee.
A brilliant wedding dress for a practical woman from half of the 19th century.
Bibliography:
Wedding Perfection- Two Centuries of wedding Gowns- Cynthia Amnèus.
