Change tray in Limoges porcelain, decorated using chromolithography with a hand-painted 24k gold rim.

Nathalie Rolland-Huckel designed Passifolia, the new tableware collection by Hermès, between two worlds, at the threshold between botanical tradition and art. Drawn from nature, her designs reveal delicate authenticity. From the side plates to the presentation platters, the coffee cups to the dinner plates, the thirty pieces that make up the Passifolia tableware collection are the fruit of an artisanal adventure, an exploration of know-how by the house of Hermès. New techniques and a series of skills were developed to faithfully reproduce the artist’s lush tropical palette and the delicacy of her line. The rain drums on the convex palm leaves. The wind hums over the fringe of petals. These sounds sharpen the chlorophyll, awakening greens in a chorus of mint, sage, celadon shades. The fuchsia, coral and garnet hues of the flowers explode in the white summer heat. In the tropical mist nature composes a richly melodious suite. An homage to the foliage that protects the earth, to the colors that burst forth in song. To the power of flora, its folly, and its leaves which rustle a single word, Passifolia.

Variegated, tiger-striped and iridescent greens mingle and overlap, jungle-like.  Their myriad tones emphasize light and shade. This interplay of contrasts serves to highlight the depth of the design, plunging us deep into the vegetation. Passifolia presents three shades of green-yellow in a single stem, five green-blues in one leaf, and plays subtly with the browns of the contours. This new tableware employs an exceptional range of thirty-two colors. Certain pieces, such as the cups, display the prowess of also being decorated on the inside. The craftsmen had to use all their ingenuity to apply the designs to these narrow, hollow surfaces. The gold filet painted by hand encircles the plates and platters with a solar halo, as if to shine a light on the absolute beauty of nature.