Line Vautrin

Private Collection, France

Christian and Catherine Boutonnet and Rafael Ortiz, Line Vautrin, Galerie L'Arc en Seine, Paris, 2002, p. 16

‘Line Vautrin is one of those archetypically French personalities — others are Cocteau, Piaf and Christian Berard — whose talents are compounded of dreams, poetry, images from the past and a mischievous sense of fun.’ (Patrick Mauriès, Line Vautrin: Sculptor, Jeweller, Magician, Thames and Hudson, London, 1992)

Vautrin’s fantasy and humor permeate her neo-Romantic work. When read phonetically in French, the phrase results in sounding out ‘C’est Idiot.’ This box is also evidence of her delight and skill in bronze, a material that few jewelers bother to gain skill in shaping and often goes unnoticed beside other more precious metals. Perhaps le vrai idiot is the one who ignores it…