Description

Brand: Hermès Design: Harnais Français Premier Empire Designer: Hugo Grygkar Material: Silk twill Size: 90 x 90 cm (approx. 35" x 35") Colorway: Green border, cream/ivory center, gold, lavender Edge Finish: Hand-rolled edges Country of Origin: France This carré presents the celebrated Harnais Français Premier Empire design by Hugo Grygkar, first introduced in 1957. The composition depicts an ornate ceremonial harness of the First Empire, rendered in meticulous detail across a luminous silk twill ground. Framed by a forest green border and enriched with decorative tassels, ribbons, and floral motifs in gold and lavender tones, the scarf exemplifies the house's enduring fascination with its equestrian heritage. Each Hermès silk square is silk-screened by hand, a process requiring months of artisan engraving to achieve the signature depth of color and precision of line that has distinguished the maison since 1937. Notes from the Curator Hugo Grygkar's Harnais Français Premier Empire, first issued in 1957, remains one of the maison's earliest and most enduring equestrian designs. Grygkar joined Hermès in 1939 and became the first scarf designer for the brand, drawing much of his inspiration from the ceremonial trappings housed in Émile-Maurice Hermès's private collection. This particular design depicts the ornate parade harness of Napoleon's First Empire, rendered with the layered draftsmanship Grygkar favoured: starting from the border and working inward, leaving the central motif deliberately open. The entire production process can take up to 750 hours, with each scarf screen-printed by hand using a method that layers one colour at a time—up to 46 different hues for a single design. The green-bordered colorway seen here, executed on luminous silk twill, balances the gravity of imperial pageantry with the decorative tassels and botanical flourishes that soften the regalia. Grygkar worked at Hermès until his death in 1959, leaving behind a corpus of over a hundred designs that continue to set the house's visual grammar.

Seller Information

Bidding Details

• Starting Bid: $10
• Buyer's Premium: 20%
• Auction End Date: