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Rectangular styptor minaudière kit-case with guilloché pattern. Interior fitted with double photo frame, propelling pencil, lighter and stack of paper. Signed “VANARP” and numbered.
In its original, bespoke Van Cleef & Arpels case.
Very good.
The minaudière appeared during the 1930s as an invention attributed to Van Cleef & Arpels. It is a case with internal compartments to allow the storage of several items, such as a powder compact, lipstick, comb and cigarette holder, in a small space.
Styptor is an alloy of pewter and silver. It was extensively used during the late 1930s and 1940s primarily in the manufacture of boxes.
This minaudière can be approached to the work of Van Cleef & Arpels in terms of its type and the techniques used in its manufacture. Styptor was, in fact, a material made fashionable by Van Cleef & Arpels for the creation of its Minaudières. This alloy was patented for its superior strength, for its beautiful gold-like colour and for its advantageous property of remaining unaltered in time (inoxidisable). The beautiful and ergonomic curved line and other details, like the invisible hinge, testify to the excellent workmanship that produced this object.
In our case, a certain uniqueness is given by the presence of the notebook and pen, details that denote the traits of the Minaudiere’s first owner, those of a modern young woman fully engaged in working life.
There is some uncertainty about who should be credited for this piece, and this comes from the signature: although it is authentic (in the sense that it is not an apocryphal, not false but is coetaneous and of quality), it does not correspond to the usual signature we recognise at Van Cleef & Arpels.
To conclude, we highlight the curious fact that the object was declared an original by Van Cleef and Arpels Milan in 2013, with the backing of Paris, before being judged false in 2014. It is precisely for this reason that we consider ourselves able to offer to our clients an object that is not just exclusive, but whose interpretation also has an aura of mystery even for the most expert connoisseurs.