Saturday, January 16, 2010

Collection SS2002: Musée Vivant du Cheval

The interesting aspect of this scarf is that its title is as much symbolic as it is real. The "Musee Vivant du Cheval" ("Living Museum of the Horse") is dedicated to the establishment in Chantilly, France (housed in the Great Stables of the Chateau de Chantilly) committed to the equine art and culture.

With a long history to build on (the stables were erected in 1719 by Louis-Henri, duke de Bourbon, who believed that he would be reincarnated as a horse and hence commissioned the architect Jean Aubert to build the stables so as to reflect the majesty of his rank), the Living Horse Museum draws countless crowds from all over the world, who undertake the trip, some 40 km North of Paris, to admire the horses, of some 30 different breeds, following daily routines. In addition to various exercises, the horses take part in "educational" demonstrations, where riders, dressed in the museum's period costumes, lead the horses to perform "airs" for visitors.

The scarf captures such "airs" performed by the horses, while the middle reveals an additional illustration of the actual museum building. In his traditional and renowned style, Hubert de Watrigant (the painter who created this design and whose select creations are exposed inside the museum) has depicted the horses with accuracy and with a great sensibility for the detail.

A pleasure to wear, the scarf shows beautifully around someone's shoulders or neck.

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