The Pola Museum of Art in Hakone will be holding an exhibition titled "Perfume Bottles of Fashion and Art - Poiret, Schiaparelli, Dior" from December 15th to April 5th of the following year, tracing the history of perfume bottles from the 20th century to the present.

Perfume Bottle "Shocking" 1937 Schiaparelli Baccarat

In France, fashion designer Paul Poiret founded the perfume brand "Rosine Perfume" in 1908, which marked the beginning of haute couture houses selling perfumes, and by the 1920s, scents began to play an important role in expressing the worldview of each house. Many maisons put a lot of effort into not only the fragrance but also the shape of their bottles, sometimes involving contemporary artists such as René Lalique and the Surrealists in their creations.

This exhibition, held as a related event to the concurrent exhibition "Surrealism and Painting - Dali, Ernst, and Japanese Surrealism," which also opens on December 15th, will showcase perfume bottles that express the maison's worldview, focusing on works created by artists. The exhibition will feature approximately 80 perfume bottles, along with paintings, advertisements, and other materials, and will trace the history of perfume bottles from the 20th century to the present, focusing on perfume bottles produced between the 1920s and 1940s, when Surrealism was gaining popularity around the world.

René Lalique perfume bottle "Dans la Nuit (In the Middle of the Night)" prototype created: 1924, by Worth
The exhibition is divided into three chapters: Chapter 1: "The origins and development of perfume by haute couture houses," Chapter 2: "The strategies of perfume houses in the 20th century," Chapter 3: "The encounter between fashion and surrealism," and Chapter 4: "Perfume bottles from the post-war period to the present day." Starting with Poiret, who collaborated with Raoul Dufy on textile design, the exhibition will feature perfume bottles by Elsa Schiaparelli, who was friends with Dali and other Surrealists and incorporated their avant-garde style, as well as Christian Dior, whose bottle designs have become a staple since their launch. The exhibition will explore the encounter between perfume bottles, which have developed as a new medium of fashion expression, and art.

Perfume bottle "Paris, Christmas" circa 1940, Coty
The concurrent exhibition, "Surrealism and Painting - Dalí, Ernst and Japanese Surrealism," is being held in recognition of 2019 marking 100 years since the birth of Surrealism. Surrealism, which originated in France, began with the aim of expressing a new reality that could not be grasped by rational consciousness. Approximately 100 paintings and prints will trace the evolution of Surrealism over the past 100 years, as well as its spread from France to Japan, America, and Asia.