Schiaparelli Haute Couture

In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Yet another example of the fall 1938 pagan collection in the Brooklyn Museum's collection, these ornamental cricket buttons are a quintessential representation of the collection's theme as a whole and of Schiaparelli's Surrealist sensibility. Schiaparelli designed clothing as an expression of her Surrealist aesthetic that included iconography that would normally be considered odd or even repugnant in association with something to be worn, for instance the well-known lobster dress of 1937 worn by the Duchess of Windsor and the plentiful insects of the pagan collection, seen on jewelry, hats, as decoration and, as seen here, fasteners. The interloping insects would seem to be crawling on high-style clothing and jewelry, the ultimate Surrealist declaration.