By Callum 
On December 12 1972 Marie-Hélène Rothschild threw an extraordinary ball at her families French estate, Château de Ferrières. The invitation to the party was written backwards only to be deciphered by holding it to a mirror. Anticipation for the event was such that one social elite threatened to commit suicide unless she was invited.
Marie-Hélène is pictured wearing the head of a beast, weeping tears made of diamonds.
The dress code was “Black tie, long dresses, surrealist heads.” What followed was a parade of the bizarre and the beautiful: women wearing cages over their heads, antlers sprouting from jeweled masks, guests with extra faces or distorted visages. On the staircase, footmen dressed as cats crouched like living sculptures, leading the way into the hall.
Inside, the décor blurred the line between dining room and dream. Tables were set with fur-covered plates, mannequin limbs, and shimmering oddities. Chandeliers sparkled overhead, but the atmosphere was equal parts glamorous and grotesque.
Among the guests were some of the most famous names of the era, blending seamlessly into the theater of surrealism. What mattered was not who you were, but how completely you surrendered to the strange. The entire evening was performance, spectacle, and illusion, each guest a character in a living dreamscape.
The Surrealist Ball at Ferrières remains a touchstone in the mythology of twentieth-century society. It was decadent, unsettling, and unforgettable—a night where wealth and imagination collided to create a scene that still fascinates more than fifty years later.