Peacock Feather Embroidered Wristlet

Description

Our elegant wristlet is based on stylized peacock feathers depicted in a color pochoir (stencil) print in Combinaisons Ornementales, published about 1901 in Paris. Considered the “bible” of decorative Art Nouveau elements, this exceptional portfolio of patterns and designs, a copy of which is in the Museum’s collection, was created by Georges Auriol (pseudonym for Jean-Georges Huyot, (French, 1863–1938), Alphonse Maria Mucha (Czech, 1860–1939), and Maurice Pillard Verneuil (French, 1869–1942).

Rayon velvet. Top-zip closure. 5''H x 9''W.

Art History

Favored for its shimmering exoticism by champions of the Aesthetic and Art Nouveau movements, the peacock feather enjoyed a lively vogue as a design motif in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Its graceful silhouette and rich, iridescent hues were adapted to every manner of the decorative arts: textiles and graphic design; porcelain, glass and metalwork; even furniture and interior decoration.