Italy, ca. 1940 CE. This is a beautiful sterling silver compact covered in carvings of flowers and leaves. Opening the working clasp, within there is a clear mirror and two areas for makeup, one of which still contains a deep pink rouge. The compact belonged to one of Mussolini's mistresses and was given as a gift to an American by Mussolini's wife, Rachele, at the end of World War II. It is unknown if it belonged to Clara Petacci, Mussolini's most famous mistress, who was executed alongside him in 1945. This compact represents important changes in the history of women, cosmetics, and the 20th century. The "flapper" style of the 1920s made it more acceptable for women to wear makeup, particularly rouge (which had previously been seen as a mark of sin); as a result, open displays of using makeup, such as going to the "powder room", became common in polite society. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, women continued to experiment with makeup to create new looks, and many companies worked on creating better and brighter pinks and reds for women to put on lips, cheeks, and foreheads. The advent of World War II meant that many women had to take their makeup "on the go", as they began working at munitions factories and in other previously men-only jobs, and this led to the widespread use of compacts. Prior to the introduction of cheap, disposable plastic, compacts were made from metals and would be reused. The rouge left in this compact suggests that the woman who owned it was particularly fortunate, because rouge was one of the most difficult types of makeup to come by in wartorn Europe. Size: 3-3/4" x 1-3/4" x 1/2".

Provenance: Ex-S. Christians-Miller, gifted by Rachele Guidi-Mussolini at end of WWII

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#110048

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