LA Perse by Cristobal Balenciaga: An Historical, Scientific and Conservation Study

Abstract

The Kunstmuseum Den Haag (hereafter KMDH) in the Netherlands holds one of four known La Perse Cristóbal Balenciaga jackets made in 1946. Previously owned by the opera singer Else Rijkens (1898–1953), the bolero-style jacket is richly hand-embroidered and constructed from white satin silk in the front and a contrasting black crepe silk in the back. The jacket has a matching toque, and a black crepe silk evening gown is visible under the two white satin silk bands at the front of the bolero, completing the set. La Perse is now considered one of the most emblematic pieces that Cristóbal Balenciaga made after the Second World War, with its rich hand-embroidery traditionally attributed by different fashion experts to the Lesage atelier. Through international collaborations between museums, conservators, curators, and cultural research institutions, this research will suggest that this attribution is inaccurate. The jacket has been part of the KMDH collection since 1956, but conservation issues with the embroidery motifs were not identified until 2020. Conservation research and historical interpretation were carried out in close collaboration between KMDH and the Instituto Valenciano de Conservación, Restauración e Investigación de Bienes Culturales in Spain (here after IVCR + i). The resulting data, collated with comparisons with embroidery samples found at the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris (hereafter MAD), as well as the assistance of the Balenciaga archives and of the historical embroidery house Hurel, leads to the conclusion that the embroidery work was made not by Lesage but by the notable embroidery house Rébé.

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