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Hand Mirror

Designer Armand-Albert Rateau French
ca. 1925
Not on view
Antiquity provided the inspiration for this hand mirror by Armand-Albert Rateau, who borrowed both its decoration from Pompeiian models. Rateau conceived the model for a sumptuous bathroom (now destroyed) that he designed in 1921 for the Duchess of Alba at the Palacio Liria in Madrid. He later included a version as part of his décor for the Pavilion de l’Élégance at the 1925 Paris exposition, which housed displays of the couturiers Jeanne Lanvin, Jenny, Callot Soeurs, and Worth and the jeweler Cartier. The Metropolitan purchased a related dressing table (25.169) directly from Rateau; in gratitude, the designer offered the hand mirror to the Museum as a gift.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Hand Mirror
  • Designer: Armand-Albert Rateau (French, Paris 1882–1938 Paris)
  • Date: ca. 1925
  • Culture: French
  • Medium: Bronze, ivory, mirror glass
  • Dimensions: 12 1/2 × 5 1/2 in. (31.8 × 14 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork-Bronze
  • Credit Line: Gift of the artist, 1925
  • Object Number: 25.170
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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