She began her career door-to-door selling her cast jewellery but later became the epitome of Parian neo-romantic chic at her progressive atelier in the Marais and upmarket boutique on the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. Vogue described as ‘the poetess of metal’.
Vautrin is well known for these Petit Roi Soleil mirrors – made in a material she called talosel, which comprised layers of cellulose acetate that she carved, gouged, moulded and encrusted with coloured mirrored glass. Now hugely popular, they have recently made some very substantial sums in specialist 20th century designs sale.
The two 5in (12.5cm) diameter convex mirrors were consigned by a vendor who bought them in the early 1970s with money given on her wedding. Pitched at £2000-3000 in the September 26 sale, the mirrors attracted wide pre-sale international interest and on the day sold at £24,000 to an overseas phone bidder against three rivals on the phones and more online.
