Hand Mirror

Armand-Albert Rateau

ca. 1925 · Bronze, ivory, mirror glass · Modern and Contemporary Art

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.

Artist

Armand-Albert Rateau

Date

ca. 1925

Medium

Bronze, ivory, mirror glass

Culture

French

Department

Modern and Contemporary Art

Credit line

Gift of the artist, 1925