HERMES 45cm SILK SCARF and 140cm CASHMERE SHAWL - LA CHARMANTE AUX ANIMAUX by ANNIE FAIVRE
This is perhaps one of the best birthday presents I've gotten! Back in the day (2010) when Neiman Marcus sold Hermes beyond fragrances, my mother secretly contacted my favorite sales associate and asked her to find something she thought I'd like. Not only was this a delightful birthday surprise, but the SA found an amazing colorway in a design that speaks to my heart. "The Animal Charmer" hits me in the animal loving feelz.
However, the inspiration for this design is less about a generic affinity for animals and more about Scheherzade and the 1001 Arabian Knights. (For those unfamiliar, Scheherazade was betrothed to a king who was famous for beheading his brides after the wedding night. To prolong her life, she spun tales over 1,000 nights, always ending on a cliffhanger so the kind would have to keep her alive to hear the end of the stories. After 1,000 nights he'd fallen in love with Scheherazade and kindly left her head attached to her body.) I hope someone with the 2010 booklet could tell me which story fueled Annie Faivre's imagination. For awhile I thought it was story #146 (not sure where I got this idea?), a tale of a duck, peahen and gazelle who were tricked by a traveling carpenter into allowing him refuge on their island of animals: after charming the animals into allowing him refuge on their island, the carpenter slays a lion cub and brings other men to the island to enslave all the animals. Super depressing and I hope I'm wrong about this story being the backdrop for the design.
At any rate, in the center of the design we have what appears to be Scheherazade spinning her tales to an enraptured Shahryar (all the better to stave off her death sentence!). They are surrounded by pairs of birds and a couple of big cats, which in turn appear to be surrounded by what I think are dragons/serpents, deer, llamas and Annie Faivre's hallmark monkey. At the top we see an archer on horseback. I'd love to get to the bottom of this!
Anyhow, I knew it was issued in a 90cm but fast forward 14 years and I've discovered that this design was also made into a gav! Took me awhile to find one in a color I liked at a price I liked. And, hey, wouldn't mind adding another colorway. Just sayin'.
However, the inspiration for this design is less about a generic affinity for animals and more about Scheherzade and the 1001 Arabian Knights. (For those unfamiliar, Scheherazade was betrothed to a king who was famous for beheading his brides after the wedding night. To prolong her life, she spun tales over 1,000 nights, always ending on a cliffhanger so the kind would have to keep her alive to hear the end of the stories. After 1,000 nights he'd fallen in love with Scheherazade and kindly left her head attached to her body.) I hope someone with the 2010 booklet could tell me which story fueled Annie Faivre's imagination. For awhile I thought it was story #146 (not sure where I got this idea?), a tale of a duck, peahen and gazelle who were tricked by a traveling carpenter into allowing him refuge on their island of animals: after charming the animals into allowing him refuge on their island, the carpenter slays a lion cub and brings other men to the island to enslave all the animals. Super depressing and I hope I'm wrong about this story being the backdrop for the design.
At any rate, in the center of the design we have what appears to be Scheherazade spinning her tales to an enraptured Shahryar (all the better to stave off her death sentence!). They are surrounded by pairs of birds and a couple of big cats, which in turn appear to be surrounded by what I think are dragons/serpents, deer, llamas and Annie Faivre's hallmark monkey. At the top we see an archer on horseback. I'd love to get to the bottom of this!
Anyhow, I knew it was issued in a 90cm but fast forward 14 years and I've discovered that this design was also made into a gav! Took me awhile to find one in a color I liked at a price I liked. And, hey, wouldn't mind adding another colorway. Just sayin'.
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