Les Clefs

This house of Hermès classic, first issued in 1965, now becomes a contemporary giant. The new size showcases the finesse of these beautifully-worked pieces better than ever – the keys are inspired by models in the collections of Emile Hermès and the Musée Le Secq des Tournelles, in Rouen: a superb ensemble of antique fine metalwork. Forty-seven pieces are arranged in a circle around an embroidered purse. Each is authentic, each tells a story, each testifies to the extraordinary workmanship of the artisan silver- and goldsmiths who made it. One opened the doors of Notre-Dame, another was presented to the governor of the Low Countries, under the name Charles III. The bows (the rounded tops of the keys) take the form of lyres, or open books, arabesques or elaborate, intertwining scrolls, while the complexity of the web (the bottom part, designed to turn in the lock) hints at the importance of the secrets they protect.