“Allez laissez couler les jours”, gilt bronze compact by Line Vautrin.
Gilded bronze compact with a rebus-decorated lid, enhanced with hot-fired enamel, by Line Vautrin.
The finely striated surface is animated by a graphic composition combining isolated letters, engraved words and a vertical alignment of small stylised bottles evocative of milk or cosmetic containers. Designed to be deciphered phonetically, the rebus unfolds into a complete sentence:
“Let the days flow, lighten them: love is a beauty milk.”
True to her fondness for wordplay and layered meanings, Line Vautrin reinterprets the popular tradition of the rebus as a poetic and intimate device. Love is presented here as a form of care — a gentle balm capable of softening the passage of time — a metaphor subtly reinforced by the choice of a compact, an object associated with beauty, ritual and daily gestures.
This piece exemplifies Vautrin’s singular approach: elevating a functional object into a bearer of thought and emotion, where meaning is never immediate but revealed through attention, reading and quiet intelligence.
Details
You should know
Lit. : Line Vautrin and Patrick Mauriès, Line Vautrin, Jewellery and Objects, p. 47, illustrating the same model in silvered bronze. – Line Vautrin, Rebus, no. 9, reproducing the drawing of the model. – Line Vautrin, Secrets of Jewellery, p. 26, no. 17. | Cursive signature on the reverse, “Line Vautrin”. | Very fine patina, with original mirror and interior silk.
Specifications
- Period
- circa 1945
- Dimensions
-
Height: 25/64 in. (1 cm)
Width: 2 33/64 in. (6,4 cm)
Depth: 3 5/32 in. (8 cm)
