In the Animal Kingdom, Grateful is the Officine

Under the Grace of the Serpent

Very often, and in many cultures and minds, the calendar year is associated with an animal figure – be it familiar or fantastical. Its character traits sway the stars, which in turn, influence the fate of the three hundred and sixty-five days that make up the calendar year. The more holistic among us will refer to the cycle of the seasons, the eagerness of days, the indolence of nights, whilst the astral souls entrust their destiny to the goodwill of the animal kingdom.

The Officine is one of these dreamers, and draws its inspiration from the Chinese calendar to draw the contours of the year under the emblem of the serpent, its spiritual animal since 1803. Fear not, this reptile, hardly celebrated for a gentle reputation, conceals as many faces - and good omens - as it possesses shimmering scales. Honour and revere it, and it shall return the dance.

The Officine explores the serpent, an animal of ambiguous and hypnotic beauty, which crawls from the Heavens to Antiquity, from the Renaissance to our own century... from paintings to our bathroom.

UNIVERSAL TALE WITH A THOUSAND FACES

The cunning master of the zodiac animals, the serpent elicits contradictory feelings, sometimes adoration, sometimes fear. It is one of those animals whose gaze carries a mysterious duality of enchantment.

The mischievous reptile slips into every legend and myth, shifting with agility between good and evil, wisdom and temptation, heaven and hell, the sublime and the monstrous. No other animal on earth embodies so many contradictions and allegories in its aura. An eternal mutant, the serpent sheds its skin and nacreous pearls to display a few new traits.

Bust of Medusa, Bernini, 1644-48, Capitolini Museums (Rome)

Divine Serpent

In mythology, snakes are symbols of righteousness, healing and danger - the faithful right-hand men of great deities. From the staff of Asclepius, the original god of medicine, to the illustrious caduceus of Hermes, this audacious reptile is the healer of all ills. Yet, it is in the guise of a half-woman, half-serpent creature called Echidna that it appears inits most triumphant. Through its terror, it affects the entire family tree, and Echidna gives birth only to terrible monsters. Celebrated in myths, these include Cerberus, the Sphinx of Thebes, the Chimera and even Ladon, an imaginary reptile endowed with a hundred heads, each speaking a different language.

Hercule au serpent (Hercules with the Snake), Gabriel Forestier, 1934

Charming Serpent

The serpent continues to weave through opposing forces, shifting at will from wisdom to temptation. It is indeed endowed with an honourable intelligence, a keen sense of discernment and an Olympian calm. Valiant attributes –distinctly human - which can, however, be transformed into mischievous deceit. As a great sage, the serpent morphs into a subtle charmer. This is reminiscent of young Eve, forbidden from apples, who nonetheless devoured the forbidden fruit under the spell of reptilian cunning... A hypnotic dance in which Mowgli also surrendersbefore the infinite gaze of the famous Kaa.

Eve Tempted by the Serpent, William Blake, 1799-1800

Good Fortune

After thousands of years of rebirth in countless forms, the snake dons new immaculate white scales and becomes a harbinger of good fortune. It is on the arm of the lovely Benzaiten - goddess of music, literature and wealth in Japanese Buddhist tradition - that the alabaster reptile, bewitched by the melodious notes of a biwa, invokes abundance and monetary prosperity...

Soleil d’hiver, Charles Walch, 1947

“To beguile the time, look like the time – bear welcome in your eye, your hand, your tongue. Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it.”

William Shakespeare, Macbeth, about 1605

For whom are these serpents... that adorn our vials?

The charm of the snake takes hold at first sight. Its legendary panache, the splendour of its scales, its long silhouette that coils and uncoils are all attributes that compel admiration. Inspired as much by the richness of its epic, by its devotion for hygiene as by its striking beauty, the Officine borrows the serpent’s most elegant profile to adorn its collection of oral care products. Tubes and vials are graced with an enchanting reptilian figure, working in unison towards a shared mission: to freshen breath, whether it be that of a grass snake or a city viper.

The Dental Opiat, a toothpaste with a refined mint, apple and orange aroma, is competing for the awards of excellence in the quest for the most radiant smile and the most invigorated breath. A might Opiat indeed, perfect to vanquish the Lernaean Hydra and its nine, wicked and malodorous heads.

The Eau de la Belle Haleine, a mouthwash with a gentle mint tea flavour perfects the tooth brushing ritual and prolongs the feeling of cleanliness.

Dental Eden lies just a stone’s throw away from the sink, draped in the colours of the famous Buly serpent, which wisely watches over the good living of all beguiling smiles.

SOINS DENTAIRES

Peppermint Dental Floss

11,67 €

Peppermint flavoured dental floss wrapped in beeswax

Peppermint Dental Floss

Perfection is often hidden in the details. The dental gap is definitely one of them. In order to hone the cleaning of the teeth after...

11,67 €

Capri toothbrush

14,17 €

Medium brush head

Capri toothbrush

Sunshine Yellow

Italian precision and elegance in the service of oral hygiene. The choice of colour is yours: yellow, green, pink or blue.

14,17 €

Robinet Cap

5,83 €

Complements any tube of the Officine Universelle Buly

Robinet Cap

This clever accessory will bring comfort and satisfaction of the mind to perfectionists and aesthetes of structured lines. Inspired by antique faucets, this star-shaped cap...

5,83 €

Orange Dental Floss

11,67 €

Orange flavoured dental floss wrapped in beeswax

Orange Dental Floss

Perfection is often hidden in the details. The dental gap is definitely one of them. In order to hone the cleaning of the teeth after...

11,67 €

Hard Bristle Toothbrush

33,33 €

Customisable acetate and silk bristle toothbrush

Hard Bristle Toothbrush

Écailles de tortue

Above all, the invention of the toothbrush is a victory for personal care. Chiselled in a material imbued with refinement and durability, the Officine toothbrush...

33,33 €

Neon Baume des Muses - Green

37,50 €

Moisturising and customisable lip balm

Neon Baume des Muses - Green

Raspberry

Exclusively made from natural raw materials, the Baume des Muses is full of moisturizing, repairing and protective organic ingredients. This flamboyant case can be personalized...

37,50 €

Medium toothbrush

33,33 €

Customisable acetate, medium bristles infused with charcoal

Quick Buy

Medium toothbrush

Ivoire

Above all, the invention of the toothbrush is a victory for personal care. Chiselled in a material imbued with refinement and durability, the Officine toothbrush...

33,33 €

A WELL-SUITED FAMOUS INCIPIT

“Afterwards I couldn’t stop thinking about the adventures in the jungle, and in my turn, I too managed to draw my first picture, with a coloured pencil. My drawing Number 1. It looked like this: (1)

I shoed my masterpiece to the grown-ups, and asked them if my drawing frightened them. They answered, “Why would we be frightened by a hat?” My drawing was not a picture of a hat. It was a picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant. So I drew the inside of the boa constrictor, to make everything clear to the grown-ups. They always need to have things explained to them. My drawing Number 2 came out like this: (2)

The grown-ups’ advice was to give up my drawings of boa constrictors, seen from the inside and the outside, and concentrate on history, geography, arithmetic and grammar instead. This was how, at the age of six, I came to abandon a magnificent career as a painter. I was discouraged by the lack of success of drawing Number 1 and drawing Number 2. Gown-ups can never understand anything on their own, and it’s exhausting for children always to have to be explaining things to them…”

The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, 1943