Exceptional Kelly

SPECIAL ORDER PIECE PRODUCED WITH MAISON LEMARIÉ OF PARIS BEING OFFERED FOR FIRST TIME

A one-of-a-kind Hermès Kelly Bag is a highlight of Heritage’s luxury accessories auction in New York.

Designed exclusively for an esteemed collector, the guineafowl-feathered bag is an exceptional rarity, says Diane D’Amato, director of luxury accessories at Heritage Auctions. “The orange and black feather design was created in partnership with Maison Lemarié of Paris, the most renowned and celebrated plumassier among haute couture houses.”

The feathers were not only carefully handpicked, D’Amato notes, but also attached individually, “forming a delicate pattern of iridescent colors framed by Hermès Box Calfskin Leather.

“This bag is exceptionally rare,” D’Amato says. “It’s a special order, one of the rarest bags ever created, and the first time it has been offered at Heritage.”

Plumed, feathered “birdhouse hats” were the rage when Lemarié was founded in 1880. Lemarié later collaborated with Parisian fashion houses such as Cristóbal Balenciaga and Christian Dior. Lemarié in recent years launched a line of jewelry influenced by tribal art, using feathers, rhinestones and precious metals.

The auction, scheduled for Dec. 2, 2018, at the Ukrainian Institute of America at the Fletcher-Sinclair Mansion in New York, includes more than 250 lots.

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This story appears in the Winter 2018-2019 edition of The Intelligent Collector magazine. Click here to subscribe to the print edition