Lot 85
DAME LUCIE RIE D.B.E. (AUSTRIAN/BRITISH 1902-1995) §
SET OF 17 PRESS MOULDED BUTTONS, c.1945-7
Auction: 30 October from 10:00 GMT
Description
earthenware, five in black, three in deep blue, two in turquoise, three in brown and four in orange
Dimensions
the largest 2.2cm wide (7/8in wide) (17)
Provenance
Acquired by Gerda Flöckinger’s mother, Anny Frankl-Flöckinger, from Lucie Rie’s representative while working as a designer at Koupy Fashion. The buttons were designed and made by Rie between about 1945 to 1947 and were given to Flöckinger’s mother on her retirement from the company.
The Collection of Gerda Flöckinger C.B.E.
Footnote
Exhibited:
Crafts Council Gallery, London, Lucie Rie: A Crafts Council Exhibition, 30 January - 5 April 1992, where some of the buttons were exhibited, probably cat. no.12.16.
A photograph of Gerda Flöckinger shows her wearing some of the dark blue buttons on a checked material dress.
Between roughly 1945 and 1947, alongside her early work on domestic tableware, Lucie Rie also turned to making press-moulded ceramic buttons, jewellery and accessories. Finished in glazed and lustred earthenware, these pieces were sometimes created as special commissions for fashion houses, other times sold through wool shops, and were designed either to complement particular fabrics or to be attached to knitted garments.
