Hermès Carré – a lifelong passion
Bukowskis’ exclusive theme auction with Hermès scarfs incorporates some of the most sought-after collectors pieces such as ”Crown”, "Le Monde est un fleuve" (twilly scarf), ”Caravelle”, ”Chocs à Plumes”, ”Cavalcadour” and ”Vieille Marine. Each model comes in different colour combinations selected out of a vast spectrum of colours. Layer upon layer of colour is applied, darkest to lightest. Over 75,000 colours are held in Hermès records, each of which came into being through a process as complex as it is kaleidoscopic. And with every season and every new colour, the spectrum broadens.
”While growing up, I was constantly discovering new motifs, each time more intriguing and surprising. I was in a magical and fantastic world. It was the universe of Hermès”, says the collector who is selling the scarves.
Hermès was founded in 1837 by Thierry Hermès and launched its first carré [silk scarf] in 1937, following a century of making leather harnesses and bridles for European nobility. The very first scarf — the Jeu des Omnibus et Dames Blanches — was created by Robert Dumas in 1937. Dumas did also create the all-time best-seller Brides de Gala in 1957, a scarf that is often encompassed in Bukowskis’ online autctions in different colour combinations. In this auction, we have a rare scarf designed by Hugo Grygkar called “La Marine en Bois” with the original design from 1958.
”The art of collecting is a way of sharing a strong passion with others. It is fascinating and elevating to be a part of such an unique and dedicated community as the Hermès scarf community” says the collector.
Hermès has created some 1500 sketches and each scarf incorporates in general five different colours. The first scarf produced featured 13 colours and the most sophisticated of them all, called ”A vos crayons” encompassed 46 different colours. Each Hermès scarf takes hundreds upon hundreds of hours to reach peak perfection. Being 20 designers and taking 9-10 months, they choose the designs almost two years before they develop the colour scales, as the colour testing takes three months and engraving process takes such a long time. The whole process takes about two years.
