Lipstick set for Agatha Christie herself – approx. 1946

According to the previous owner, this case was made especially for the writer Agatha Christie and later given to the mother of the current owner. A rare ensemble of particular cultural and historical interest – an expression of the aesthetics and innovative spirit of the late 1940s, a time when women were bringing a touch of luxury and beauty back into their everyday lives after the hardships of the war.

The lipstick travel set dates from the immediate post-war period and was probably the result of an extraordinary collaboration between Van Cleef & Arpels and Revlon. It is presented in a high-quality petrol-coloured leather case with gold-embossed lettering reading "AGATHA" as well as "Rye, New York" and "July 16, 1946". The set comprises six glass bottles with gold-coloured caps that could hold different shades of lipstick. Some of them still bear the original colour names such as "Scarlet Slipper", "Pink Garter", "Dynamite", "Fatal Apple" and "Pink Lightning". The ensemble is complemented by a lipstick case made of solid 14-carat gold in the characteristic grooved design of the era.

The lipstick was stored in a small leather case and was considered a stylish accessory that elegant ladies of the time liked to carry in their handbags, often a Hermès bag.

• Date: approx. 1946

• Alloy of lipstick case: 585/-14-carat yellow gold

• Dimensions of lipstick: approx . 5.4 cm, Ø 1.2 cm

• Case: leather, velvet interior

• Case dimensions: approx. 17 × 9 cm

• Total gross weight of tube: 33 .4 g