<p>Flower Arrangement in pâte de verre by Marie Chauvel, circa 1930</p><p>Marie Chauvel is an enigma. So discreet but so creative, this ambassador’s wife - Ambassador of France to Brazil they say - has left little behind her. It was on a trip to Venice that she, being very talented with her hands and overwhelmed by boredom, bought some colored glass beads. Once back home, she created her first light fittings made up like posies in which she mixed glass and fabrics. A friend of Marie-Laure de Noailles , Chauvel exclusively sold her delicate, homemade creations to her circle of friends and acquaintances. Rare, they are sought out today by the connoisseurs ‘in-the-know’ of this 30s and 40s mysterious lady.</p><p> </p>