?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000
ALPHONSE MUCHA (1860-1939) VIN DES INCAS. 1897. 5 3/8x14 1/4 inches. Condition A. Paper. Vin des Incas was one of the many varieties of fortified wine that were popular at the turn of the century. Distilled from various herbs, these tonics were sold as medication targeting various illnesses, and in this case specifically aimed at convalescents. Vin des Incas contained coca from Peru, and no doubt the small amounts of cocaine proved rather animating for the convalescents who used it. Cocaine-based tinctures were completely legal at the turn-of-the-century, and Vin Mariani was another popular brand in France, as Coca-Cola was in the United States. But Vin des Incas used both their name and advertising to evoke the exotic Peruvian source of their medication. The image itself is peculiar, as it illustrates a very difficult allegory: "The Divine Inca refusing coca to her people." Perhaps the implication was meant to be that the goddess is holding the coca for people more worthy, such as French convalescents. The poster exists in a larger format, and this smaller version was reprinted with several minor changes. Rennert/Weill 43, Lendl/Paris 25 (var.), Health Posters 119 (var).
