“Les Roseaux à visage humain” (“Reeds with Human Faces”) is a double-sided silvered bronze box by Line Vautrin.
The front side representing reeds (rushes) in motion, with their flowers replaced by human faces.
The engraved underside of the box evokes the undulating movement of a river’s water.
Blaise Pascal’s metaphor of the “thinking reed,” taken from his “Pensées,” describes human beings as both weak and noble. Pascal emphasizes the fragility of man, comparing his condition to that of a reed, easily broken by the elements. However, he adds that man is distinguished by his ability to think, to be aware of his own existence and finiteness, which makes him superior to all the rest of nature, even in the face of his own destruction.
Details
You should know
Signed “LINE VAUTRIN” on two lines by stamping on its left side.
Very good original condition.
Specifications
- Period
- circa 1945 - 1950
- Dimensions
-
Height: 1 3/16 in. (3 cm)
Width: 5 45/64 in. (14,5 cm)
Depth: 3 11/32 in. (8,5 cm)
