HERMÈS PARIS Porcelain ashtray painted with a blue and red bird motif, set against a green background. Midnight blue felt 19 x 15.5 cm See related pieces in lots 20, 21, and 22, as well as variations in lots 23 through 28 Provenance: Collection of the artist’s family. Assembled under the direction of Fabrizio La Torre, son of Gabriella La Torre, this collection reflects a desire to recreate a body of work that brings together the artist’s archives and pieces produced by Hermès. Gabriella La Torre (Rome, 1894–1976) was a porcelain painter. Over several decades, she developed a distinctive body of work inspired in particular by her passion for the decorative arts and antique porcelain, whose designs she studied and collected. Beginning in 1957, she collaborated with Hermès, for which she created numerous designs that gave rise to silk scarves, ready-to-wear pieces, and porcelain objects. Her creative vision gave rise to patterns such as “Insects,” “Flowers and Braids,” “Oranges and Lemons,” “Cherries,” “Roosters,” and “Old China.”