An original silver-gelatin print mounted on wood, based on a...

An original silver-gelatin print mounted on wood, based on a photograph taken by Fabrizio La Torre in 1960 in the storage rooms of the National Museum in Bangkok, depicting the side panel of a prayer cabinet. This piece is the origin of the entire creative process behind the Hermès square—incorrectly named “Vieille Chine” by the House of Hermès.
Fabrizio gave this panel to his mother, who hung it above her desk.
50 x 50 cm
(some signs of wear)

Source piece for lots 12 through 19

Provenance:
The artist’s family collection. Assembled under the guidance of Fabrizio La Torre, son of Gabriella La Torre, this collection reflects a desire to reconstruct a body of work that brings together the artist’s archives and pieces produced by Hermès.

Gabriella La Torre (Rome, 1894–1976) was a porcelain painter. Over several decades, she developed a personal body of work inspired in particular by her love of the decorative arts and antique porcelain, whose designs she studied and collected.

Beginning in 1957, she collaborated with Hermès, for which she created numerous designs that gave rise to silk scarves, ready-to-wear pieces, and porcelain objects. Her creative vision gave rise to patterns such as “Insects,” “Flowers and Braids,” “Oranges and Lemons,” “Cherries,” “Roosters,” and “Old China.”