Line Vautrin

Christie's Paris: Un Souhait a Traversé Paris - Collection Marie-Laure Bonnaud-Vautrin, Oeuvres Choisies de Line Vautrin, 19 May 2015 [Lot 360]

Louisa Guinness Gallery, London

Acquired from the above by the present owner

Line Vautrin and Patrick Mauriès, Line Vautrin, Bijoux et Objets, Thames and Hudson, London, 1992, p. 52

Line Vautrin and Patrick Mauriès, Line Vautrin: Sculptor, Jeweller, Magician, Thames and Hudson, London, 1992, p. 52

Christian and Catherine Boutonnet and Rafael Ortiz, Line Vautrin, Galerie L'Arc en Seine, Paris, 2002, p. 38

Anne Bokelberg, Line Vautrin: Poesie in Metall, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, 2003, p. 145, no. 115

Line Vautrin’s Saint Nicolas necklace, unlike her other figurative work, leaves no question as to who the figure represents: the choker is emblazoned with the letters S and N and the reverse of the pendant is clearly incised with the saint’s name. The Greek Saint Nicholas, who lived in the third and fourth century AD, was credited with many miracles and called the Wonderworker. The reverse of the pendant shows some of the children whom he is the patron saint of, though he was also trusted by sailors, brewers, and even repentant thieves in early Christianity. Perhaps the mystery that Vautrin imbued this piece with is who it is dedicated to when he helped so many? Vautrin’s love of tales and mythology comes through clearly in this piece.