G K Benda for Restaurant Prunier/Moet & Chandon

Fontange or balloon shaped fan with stained wooden sticks.

The single paper leaf is printed on the recto with two fashionably attired females and a sphinx-like figure on a balcony; a view of dome-capped temples and other buildings in the background. Signed and dated ‘G K Benda, 1913’.
The verso is printed with holly sprigs and promotional inscriptions.

The pose adopted by the male figure is not dissimilar to one struck by Nijinsky in the ‘Dance Siamoise’ from the ‘Orientales’ ballet, which premiered on 25 June 1910 at the Théâtre National de l’Opéra. It is quite probably that this figure is in fact a portrait of Nijinsky – the facial features too bear an uncanny resemblance to the famous Russian dancer.