Christian Dior | Christie's

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Christian Dior

Details

Christian Dior
An haute couture sleeveless evening dress of champagne satin, the fitted strapless bodice of sweetheart décolleté design, both bodice and flying panel lavishly decorated in raised silks and soft pastel embroidery, rhinestones and gold sequins, with train from one shoulder similarly decorated, the dress with Christian Dior, Paris label, 1955; accompanied by two black and white portrait photographs by Lenare, of Margot Fonteyn wearing this dress with her D.B.E. award, the official portraits taken to mark the occasion of the receipt of her order, January 2nd, 1956, the shots taken at the Panamanian Embassy, 17A Thurloe Place, London, both with photographer's ink credit on reverse, both -- 13¾x105/8in. (35x27cm.), one framed; and three press stills of Margot Fonteyn wearing the outfit and her D.B.E. award at an evening event to mark the occasion, each -- 4¼x6¼in. (10.7x15.8cm.) or 6¼x4¼in. (15.8x10.7cm.) (6)

Literature

FONTEYN, Margot Autobiography, London: W.H.Allen, 1975, p.161

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

Margot Fonteyn recalled the day she received her D.B.E. in her autobiography ...To be truthful I loved the investiture at Buckingham Palace. The precision with which the ceremony is organized amazed me. From the moment one arrives one is watched over and coached so that there can be no possibility of a hitch during the investing of several hundred people with different honours. An elderly courtier had the duty of pinning on to my dress a little hook, upon which my order would be hung. I had to help him, because evidently my bosom was not as ample as expected and he had difficulty in finding where to position the hook...

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