La Dame de la Brosse à Cheveaux
This sterling silver hairbrush made in Birmingham in 1903 is just one piece out of a very substantial dressing table set that includes hairbrushes, mirrors, a looking glass, a tray, a comb, clothes brushes, perfume bottles, a glove hook, a perfume bottle opener, a boot hook, a shoe horn, a manicure set, powder pots, a needle case, an appointment book, a miniature Bible, a hair tidy, a hatpin container, an appointment book and even a letter opener, all of which belonged to one of my Great, Great Aunts. All of them feature elegant and ornate repoussé work of a very high standard. Each item depicts a beautiful Art Nouveau maiden in profile with long flowing tresses that twist and curl about her as she stands amid some sunflowers, plucking blooms. This style of design is typical of the curvilinear floral and female motifs so popular during the Art Nouveau period, epitomised by artists like Alphonse Mucha and Gustav Klimt. As a child, I called the Art Nouveau lady on these pieces, Clytie, after the Greek mythological legend of Clytie the sea nymph who fell in love with Apollo and was transformed into a sunflower.
The theme for the 11th of December “Looking Close… on Friday” is “brush”. I thought this silver backed hairbrush made by the Birmingham silversmiths Levi and Salaman in 1903 was an elegant choice. I hope that you will agree. The hairbrush features a pad of boar bristles which were stiff enough to brush the thick and long hair grown by Edwardian women to form the ornate and stylish ‘transformations’ (hairstyles) of the first decade of the Twentieth Century.
This hairbrush is hallmarked with the initials “L.&S.” which are the initials for the silversmiths Levi and Salaman. Founded in 1870 by Phineas Harris Levi in partnership with Joseph Wolff Salaman the two men established a silversmiths firm. They later became proprietors of the Potosi Silver Company in 1878. The firm became Levi and Salaman in the early Twentieth Century and became Levi and Salaman Ltd. in 1910. In 1921 the firm was amalgamated into Barker Brothers Silversmiths Limited.
La Dame de la Brosse à Cheveaux
This sterling silver hairbrush made in Birmingham in 1903 is just one piece out of a very substantial dressing table set that includes hairbrushes, mirrors, a looking glass, a tray, a comb, clothes brushes, perfume bottles, a glove hook, a perfume bottle opener, a boot hook, a shoe horn, a manicure set, powder pots, a needle case, an appointment book, a miniature Bible, a hair tidy, a hatpin container, an appointment book and even a letter opener, all of which belonged to one of my Great, Great Aunts. All of them feature elegant and ornate repoussé work of a very high standard. Each item depicts a beautiful Art Nouveau maiden in profile with long flowing tresses that twist and curl about her as she stands amid some sunflowers, plucking blooms. This style of design is typical of the curvilinear floral and female motifs so popular during the Art Nouveau period, epitomised by artists like Alphonse Mucha and Gustav Klimt. As a child, I called the Art Nouveau lady on these pieces, Clytie, after the Greek mythological legend of Clytie the sea nymph who fell in love with Apollo and was transformed into a sunflower.
The theme for the 11th of December “Looking Close… on Friday” is “brush”. I thought this silver backed hairbrush made by the Birmingham silversmiths Levi and Salaman in 1903 was an elegant choice. I hope that you will agree. The hairbrush features a pad of boar bristles which were stiff enough to brush the thick and long hair grown by Edwardian women to form the ornate and stylish ‘transformations’ (hairstyles) of the first decade of the Twentieth Century.
This hairbrush is hallmarked with the initials “L.&S.” which are the initials for the silversmiths Levi and Salaman. Founded in 1870 by Phineas Harris Levi in partnership with Joseph Wolff Salaman the two men established a silversmiths firm. They later became proprietors of the Potosi Silver Company in 1878. The firm became Levi and Salaman in the early Twentieth Century and became Levi and Salaman Ltd. in 1910. In 1921 the firm was amalgamated into Barker Brothers Silversmiths Limited.