This cunning objet d’art is the chance product of a conversation between the young ingénue Oppenheim, only 22 at the time, and Pablo Picasso.

Sitting idly in a café and sipping espressos, as Europeans are wont to do, Picasso notices Oppenheim’s fur-covered bracelet and plants the seed by suggesting that almost anything could be covered in the tactile material.

The fuzzy vessel has become somewhat of an emblem for Surrealist groupies, because of the absurd pairing that renders the original flea-market cup and saucer unusable- or at least not without gagging on a few hairs. Covering that everyday item with fur makes it strange, bizarre and, well...surreal!

The juicy part though is that the Surrealists were famously interested in bringing life to the dreams and desires of the unconscious mind, which for most of those pervy artists meant S-E-X. I won’t be vulgar, but think of a sexual act that could be simulated by drinking warm liquid out of a hairy cup and…you get the idea.