Hermès’ Rabbit Duck Illusion Scarf

In many European countries we are celebrating Easter Monday today, so I figured I’ll show you a matching Hermès scarf, it’s the one with the Rabbit Duck Illusion.

In vielen Europäischen Ländern feiern wir heute den Ostermontag, deshalb möchte ich Ihnen ein passendes Hermès Tuch vorstellen, nämlich das mit der Hase-Ente-Illusion.

Hermès - rabbit duck illusion / Hase-Ente-Illusions

Hermès – rabbit duck illusion / Hase-Ente-Illusions

My English friend and her husband gave me this unusual Hermès scarf some twenty years ago. I think it was an Easter gift.  At times I call her “Hase” (rabbit) and this was supposed to remind me of her. I’ve been searching the net for the name of the scarf and which year it was issued, but found nothing. 

Vor ca. zwanzig Jahren schenkten mir meine englischen Freunde dieses ungewöhnliche Hermès Tuch zu Ostern, glaube ich. Ich nenne meine Freundin oft “Hase” und es soll mich an sie erinnern. Leider bin ich im weltweiten Web nicht fündig geworden, was den Namen des Tuches angeht und aus welchem Jahr es stammt.

Rabbit Duck Illusion - Wittgenstein

Duck Rabbit Illusion by Ludwig Wittgenstein

Joseph Jastrow was a Warsaw born American psychologist and president of the American Psychological Association in 1900. He used the figure to show that perception is not just a product of the stimulus, but also of mental activity.

Der in Warschau geborene Joseph Jastrow war ein amerikanischer Psychologe und im Jahr 1900 Präsident der American Psychological Association. Anhand dieser Figur zeigte er auf, dass Wahrnehmung nicht nur über die Augen, sondern auch über unsere Gedanken passiert.

Hermès Tuch: Ist es ein Hase? / Is it a rabbit?

Hermès Tuch: Ist es ein Hase? / Is it a rabbit?

in 1993 two psychologists asked children on Easter Sunday and in October what they saw in the picture. Those that were asked on Easter said they saw a rabbit, the others saw a duck.

Bei einem Experiment aus dem Jahr 1993 befragten zwei Wissenschaftler Kinder zu zwei verschiedenen Zeitpunkten was sie auf dem Bild sehen würden. Die an Ostersonntag befragten Kinder sahen einen Hasen, die Oktober-Kinder eine Ente.

Hermes Gavroche - Is it a duck? / Ist es eine Ente?

Hermes Gavroche – Is it a duck? / Ist es eine Ente?

Hermès loves to surprise us with its designs – their artists are always up to something and I have great pleasures i.e. in finding Annie Faivre‘s signature monkey in her designs. So I am extremely curious as to who designed this rabbit duck illusion motif. Do you have any idea? Please let me know if you do!

Hermès liebt es uns mit ihren Designs zu überraschen. Die Künstler führen scheinbar immer etwas im Schilde und mir macht es große Freude z.B. bei Tüchern von Annie Faire den Affen zu suchen, der in all ihren Designs Teil ihrer Signatur ist. Deshalb würde ich auch so gern wissen, von wem dieses Hase-Ente-Illusion Motiv stammt. Wissen Sie es? Wenn ja, lassen Sie es mich bitte wissen!

Hermès Gavroche - Rabbit Duck Illusion

Hermès Gavroche – Rabbit Duck Illusion

Show this picture to your family and friends and ask them which animal they see. I bet it makes an interesting Easter topic!

Zeigen Sie Ihrer Familie und Ihren Freunden dieses Bild und fragen sie, was für ein Tier sie darin sehen. Ich wette, es wird eine interessante Oster-Unterhaltung auslösen.

 x

       🙂       Have a very HAPPY Easter Monday!       🙂

       🙂       Ihnen allen einen sehr SCHÖNEN Ostermontag!       🙂

x

12 Comments
  • Alexandra Eibler
    April 6, 2015

    Wow das ist ja lustig! 😀

    Frohe Ostern! <3

    • happyface313
      April 6, 2015

      🙂 Dir auch noch ein paar Minuten schöne Ostern!
      Ich habe weder Hase noch Ente gegessen – sondern nur Marzipan und Schokolade – und freue mich jedes Osterfest erneut an diesem Tuch.
      Herzliche Grüße xo 🙂

  • nixe
    April 7, 2015

    Wirklich lustig 🙂 Ich kann mich an ein Foto erinnern, da mußte man auch genau hinschauen ob Hasen oder Enten …lach
    Als Tuch find ich das super.
    Liebe Grüße

    • happyface313
      April 7, 2015

      🙂 Danke Dir! Herzliche Grüße 🙂

  • jackiemallon
    April 8, 2015

    Oh, now I see the duck! Initially I saw only a tumbling rabbit, falling and spinning. Clever indeed xo

    • happyface313
      April 8, 2015

      🙂 It’s an interesting scarf, isn’t it? It reminds me of these never ending stair cases.
      Have a very HAPPY Wednesday 🙂 xo

  • happyface313
    April 13, 2015

    🙂 Thank you very much! I’m happy you are enjoying it here and finding new things as well.
    Have a very HAPPY week! 🙂

  • Marina
    August 20, 2015

    hi there, Dear Happyface! I found your blog, searching for the info of this little gavroche. Were you able to find out anything regarding its provenance? Year of issue/artist/name? I’m most curious, as I collect Hermes scarves for many years, and just recently acquired this little cutie (in yellow/brown). Thank you and regards, Marina

    • happyface313
      August 20, 2015

      🙂 Hello, dear Marina,
      thank you for coming to my site.
      No, I haven’t been able to find out from when the scarf is and who designed it, but I will keep my eyes open and try to find out.
      Once I know, I promise to get back to you.
      What kind of beautiful scarves to you have? What and how do you collect? By artists? By themes? Or simply by what appeals to you?
      Have a beautiful and very HAPPY day 🙂

      • Marina
        August 20, 2015

        thank you for you prompt reply, HF! 🙂
        I also posted my question on TPF and so far hasn’t received a satisfactory answer. Do you remember it was given to you 20 years ago (circa 1995)? That’s the start.
        I’ve been collecting HS for 17 years, but my collection is not so conventional – no particular theme or artist. It is more of what speaks to me and over the course of years hundreds of scarves passed through my hands, only about 70 scarves stayed. My recent shift is also towards CSGMs and cute funny gavroches, hence why this little guy ended up with me 🙂

      • happyface313
        August 21, 2015

        🙂 Thank you, M!
        I’ve raised the questions directly at H in Paris and I will get back to you, once I have received an answer.
        Can you say what your favorite scarf presently is?
        I think from the 90cm scarves TohuBohu is my all time favorite – I have it pleated in orange and from the first edition a black one with all kinds of colorful shades. Other than that Fantaisie Indiennes in purple with pink and orange is one I wear a lot. And right now I’m wearing Cent Plis de Miao in pink with black and jeans-blue.
        Have a very HAPPY Friday evening! 🙂

      • Marina
        August 22, 2015

        oohhh!!! Sounds wonderful! I hope our favorite Meson de H will come through!
        My all time favorite is Ex-Libris en Kimonos, I was so thrilled when it came out, that I got myself 6 carres and 2 shawls. Nowadays I still have 4 carres, as 2 were clearly not my colors and same 2 shawls. I’d love to get more shawls and also secretly hope H will issue it again in gavroche and summer silk sizes.
        Before that I used to love fiercely my Raconte Moi le Cheval and also have had it in multiple colorways and sizes. I think to this day it is a perfect gift for a little girl and only wish I had one 🙂 oh well… maybe our 3 boys will be kind enough to present us with granddaughters one day 🙂
        I’m more and more loving my shawls and I find them more useful for my pretty relaxed Californian lifestyle. Some days I look at my collection and think I really need to edit it, and then I say no, I’m not ready to let it go as each and every scarf is special in one way or another and almost all accidental purchases are now residing in somebody else’s house anyway. I’m just trying to restrict myself to finding treasures from my Wish List and also splurge on Hermes carre booklets. I’m proud that I have almost a complete set of carre booklets and missing only a few, but they are really hard to come by. You might see them on TPF in electronic version 🙂 I find it so thrilling to learn all I can about my scarves (hence my question about this little Rabbit/Duck pochette!). H didn’t do itself a favor when it stopped Carres Histories a few years ago. Now they are back and that is wonderful news for us, collectors and enthusiasts. I wish we knew more about gavroches as well, they are almost a mystery way to often, and if one wasn’t around at time of their production, a story behind it is not easy to discover…

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