Inventory of the Marie Taglioni Collection 2010 Introduction Marie Taglioni (1804-1884) is one of the most legendary dancers in history. As Sylphide she has created the archetype of the romantic ballerina: ethereal, apparently weightless, in contact with the earth only through the tips of her toes. Though it is hard to determine the degree of novelty in her pointe technique, it is certain that she brought the art of toe tip virtuosity to an unprecedented level, and created a new expressive style. The historical value of this collection cannot be separated from the sentimental value which it has for ballet lovers. The most valuable and informative object is no doubt the pair of dancing shoes; it dates from a rather early moment in her career (1829), and is remarkable in showing no strengthening at the tip. Together these objects may serve to illuminate aspects of Taglioni’s career. This has been done in an extensive web presentation, which has been published at the same time as this inventory: Marie Taglioni (1804-1884): A life on toe tip.* History of the collection Until July 2010 the objects 1-13 and 15 had been stored in one archive box labelled “Attributen Maria Taglioni”. The box contained no further data; nor was there within living memory any knowledge regarding provenance. A number of letters written by Marie Taglioni were found however as part of the D.F. Scheurleer collection in the so- called Brievencollectie, a collection of letters not associated with specific archives. It is likely that most of these letters and the other objects have at some time been acquired by D.F. Scheurleer as one lot. The only clues to the collection’s history before that date are those within the collection itself. Most of the letters are addressed to a Baron Meynadier, and at least two of the objects (nrs. 2 and 9) were a present to him. Baron Meynadier can be identified as Gabriel-Louis-Hippolyte Meynadier, Baron de Flamalens. Besides being the author of a study on city planning (Paris sous le point de vue pittoresque et monumental, 1843), he has been described as ancien chef du bureau des théâtres au département des Beaux- Arts.** Vaillat 1942 calls him secretary to Vicomte Sosthène de La Rochefoucauld, director of the royal theatres. Baron Meynadier introduced Marie Taglioni to her Parisian colleagues and established a contact with the shoemaker Janssen (Vaillat 1942, p. 120- 121). From the correspondence we learn that their friendship lasted into the 1860’s. It is likely that Meynadier received most of the objects in this collection as gifts from Taglioni. The ribbons (14) suggest that the collection has at some time during the 20th Century been on display in the Netherlands. Preservation The most fragile objects, the shoes and the fans, were found to be in fairly good condition. Advice has been sought on the fans from Mrs Jannie J.H. Polak, formerly curator of the Felix Tal fan collection; it was decided to keep them stored in folded condition, and they should not be opened without good reason. The shoes have been repacked with protective filling through the kind assistance of Mrs Foekje Boersma, Senior Advisor Preservation of the Nationaal Archief, The Hague. All objects have been repacked into two boxes. Lodewijk Muns, November 2010 (rev. 2011) * http://www.nederlandsmuziekinstituut.nl/en/component/content/article/545-taglioni-0 ** Guillaume Le Gall: Paris, objet d'histoire. http://expositions.bnf.fr/atget/arret/16.htm 1 2 Contents Various objects Correspondence and other written documents (p. 7) References (p. 9) Reproductions (p. 11) Various objects The Taglioni Collection has the NMI archive number 496. Full item numbers: 496/01 etc. 01 Dance shoes Materials: leather, satin, linen (?), various Measurements: sole: length 23 cm, width 3 cm in the middle, 4 cm at the tip; vamp: 8 cm; height from inner sole to vamp (at the drawstring): 4,5 cm. Date: worn in 1829 Physical description: Pair of ballet shoes. Soles and inner soles leather; the upper part consists of thin leather on the heel section (‘quarter’), linen (?) on the toe section, the whole covered in white satin. Drawstring and ribbons (the ribbons of one shoe are missing). The date 1829 is inscribed on both inner soles. The satin is partly torn on the heel section of one shoe. Historical context: Since 1827, the year of her Paris debut, Marie Taglioni had her shoes made by a shoemaker named Janssen, supplier to the Paris Opéra. Notable are the tapered tips without reinforcement. 02 Gloves Materials: leather Measurements: length 34,8 cm Date: worn in 1835 Physical description: Pair of white leather gloves. The left glove is partly turned inside out; on the inside is written in (largely faded) ink: Gants mis le 8. avril 1835 / par Mlle Taglioni […?] / pour danser le menuet / avec M. Vestris. / Donnés par elle à son / ami Hippolyte Meynadier / le 25 avril 1835. / Marie Taglioni (Taglioni’s signature). Accompanied by a note with similar contents. Historical context: The occasion was a performance for Marie Taglioni’s benefit. One item on the programme was a minuet and gavotte danced in rococo costume by Taglioni and 75 year old Auguste Vestris. 03 Garters (?) Materials: metal, leather, thread Measurements: length: 22,5 cm Physical description: Pair of garters (?), consisting of a metal stretchable spiral covered with leather. One is broken, the other is decorated with a yellow silk ribbon. 3 04 Castanets Materials: wood, rope Measurements: 6,5 cm (without attachment) Physical description: Pair of castanets, tied together with rope Historical context: A Spanish dance with castanets was part of the ballet La Gitana (1838). With this, Taglioni had a kind of revenge on Fanny Elssler, who was famous for her ‘cachucha’, and in that same year had infringed upon Taglioni’s territory by dancing the role Taglioni was most strongly associated with, that of Sylphide. 05 Fan Materials: wooden sticks and guards, double paper leaf, bone (plaque) Measurements: height 23,8 cm; span 38 cm Date: 1798 (?) Physical description: Folding fan with wooden sticks and double paper leaf, printed. There are small tears at the edges and one large tear lengthwise on a fold; one stick is broken. Decoration: in a medallion The New Egyptian Dance Fan for 1799; three vignettes of female dancers; 20 dance tunes arranged in four rows. Dance instructions are given below the tunes. British Navy New A Trip to General Lakes Waltz Royal Reel, or Nelsons Alexandria Volunteers Fancy thro the Nile* Croppies Lie London Toulon Fleet Sweating down** Beauties Doctor Scotch Fencibles Gipsey Hat** Sir Sidney Smith’s Little Patty Escape Windsor Camp** Turkish Target Reel* Village Hop Allemand* The Stranger Buonaparte’s Knights of Malta ** Irish Expedition** Invasion** Historical context: Fans with collections of ‘hot’ dancing tunes seem to have been a fashion of the 1790’s. Similar fans, decorated with containing tunes, dance instructions and vignettes, may be found in collections and auction catalogues; cf. British museum 1893 Nrs. 15, 48, 50, 51, 61 (image in Percival 1920, p. 123) and Percival 1920 p. 122. Some of the tunes on this fan refer to political-military topics of the French Revolutionary Wars and Irish Rebellion. ‘Egyptian’ refers to Napoleon’s failed campaign in Egypt. In May 1798 the French fleet had sailed from Toulon to Alexandria. In a naval battle at Aboukir Bay (near Alexandria) they were defeated by the British under the command of Horatio Nelson in August 1798. Napoleon personally left Egypt August 1799. General Gerard Lake, who is honoured with a waltz (third column), commanded British forces during the French-supported Irish Rebellion of 1798. Admiral Sir Sidney Smith (lower in the same column) was captured by the French in Le Havre and imprisoned in Paris, until he escaped with royalist help in 1798. Best known of these songs – and still politically sensitive – is Croppies Lie down, which celebrates the suppression of the Irish Rebellion. 4 Some of the tunes may be found in alternative sources: * Twenty-four fashionable country dances for the year 1799, with their proper figures as performed at court, Bath. and all public assemblys. 1799. Boston: Reprinted and sold by W. Norman. ** Twenty Four New Country Dances for the Year 1799.: With proper Directions to each Dance, etc. 1799. London: Printed for T. Skillern. 06 Fan Materials: wooden sticks and guards, double paper leaf Measurements: height 28 cm, span 46,5 cm Date: ca 1790 Physical description: Folding fan with wooden sticks and double paper leaf, printed and hand coloured. Decoration: on the left: a score fragment titled Air: de Raoul de Créqui; centre: a scene from the opera; on the right: texts of airs of Bathilde and Eloi. Historical context: The fragments are from Raoul, sire de Créqui, a work by Nicolas Dalayrac (1753-1809) with libretto by J.M.B. de Monvel. The opera was premiered on October 31 1789 in Paris, and a date close to that premiere is probable. Maybe the fact that Salvatore Viganò made a ballet after this opera (1791) is relevant; Filippo Taglioni has been a member of his company, and another item in this collection (08) refers directly to Viganò. 07 Box Materials: wood with engraving in unidentified technique, lacquer Measurements: diameter 8,2 cm Date: 1810 or shortly after Physical description: Lid of a round wooden box (?) decorated with a female figure (Cendrillon) with tambourine; in the background on what appears to be a folding screen melody and text of an air headed Cendrillon. Historical context: Cendrillon, opéra féerie en trois actes is a composition by Nicolas (Nicolò) Isouard (1773-1818) on a libretto by Charles Guillaume Etienne.