Talosel brooch-pendant in the shape of a fish, the eye in banded agate, unsigned, circa 1960.


 Provenance: Naïla de Monbrison collection (1940-2025), committed gallery owner and niece of King Farouk I of Egypt.


 Line Vautrin (1913–1997) was a self-taught French designer, fascinated from childhood by metalwork thanks to her father, a foundryman. After a brief experience with Elsa Schiaparelli, she developed her first creations on her own, notably in bronze, a material that was then undervalued.
 From 1937 onwards, the company experienced a real boom, opening boutiques in Paris and gaining recognition for its inventiveness: buttons, jewelry, accessories and decorative objects. It distinguished itself by its ability to elevate simple materials, particularly during the war.
 In the 1940s and 50s, her business expanded significantly, with a wide variety of creations combining bronze, glass, porcelain, and ivory. In the 1960s, she turned to resin (talosel), creating highly original mirrors and objects inlaid with colored fragments.
 She ceased her commercial activity in 1968 to devote herself to other artistic and spiritual pursuits. Rediscovered in the 1980s, her work experienced a resurgence of international interest.
 Her work, which defies categorization as either jewelry or art object, is characterized by great creativity, a taste for poetry, wordplay, and symbolic references.
 A pioneering and unclassifiable artist, she embodies the artistic spirit of Paris in the 1940s and 50s, while remaining profoundly original. Her main artistic legacy is having transformed materials considered humble into poetic and unique works of art and collectibles, now highly sought after by collectors, the most famous of whom is the American pop star Madonna.