Read this Dionysus against its lineage and the design choices line up exactly: the flap silhouette closed by the tiger-head clasp Alessandro Michele drew from the myth of Dionysus. The piece is finished in python (a centrepiece exotic skin permitted under CITES with the appropriate paperwork), which is precisely the material the line is meant to be read in. With a 8 by 12 by 4 inch format, the piece carries with everyday confidence rather than scale for scale's sake. Carried by enough of the right people that it has entered the small group of pieces one recognises before reading the label. Considered acquisitions of this kind tend to be the ones that anchor a collection rather than fill it. Presented by Maison de Beaubigonne to a collector audience that already knows what to do with it.

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