Tessai

The Tessai (Hellene reformed: τέςαι) was a group of influential socialites, salonnières, and art patrons active in Maveás during the Golden Revolution. They wielded significant influence over the city's artistic scene, and shaped its image in Gylias, giving it an enduring association with elegance and aristerokratia.

Etymology

The name is a portmanteau of οι τέςςεʀις μούσες (oi tésseris moúses), Hellene for "the four muses". The term came about due to the group's philhellenism, and humorously alluding to their efforts to make Maveás "an exclave of Elena".

Members

• 

  Dora Holland
  (1903–1988)

• 

  Rita Leite
  (1905–1979)

• 

  Françoise Frémont
  (1903–1980)

• 

  Luisa Casati
  (1911–1987)

Origins

The group members came from varied origins: Dora Holland was an eccentric member of the Shalumite royal family who left Shalum; Luisa Casati was of mixed Cacertian–Megelanese descent and part of nobility by marriage; Françoise Frémont was raised in Alscia; and Rita Leite was of Lusitan descent.

They met each other in the Free Territories, and ultimately settled in Maveás.

Activities

The Tessai arrived in Maveás soon after it was liberated during the Liberation War. They formed a close group and gained fame for their prestigious image, lavish hosting, and eccentric habits — Luisa would parade around the city with leashed cheetahs and wear live snakes as jewelry, while Rita wore a live snake around her throat, remarking that it kept her neck cool in hot weather.

They were united by their shared tastes, which leaned towards classicism, evoking the Belle Époque and Alscia, and ambition to be tastemakers, muses, and patronesses of the arts. They frequently commissioned and posed for portraits, which generally depicted them in an idealised manner, and went in public wearing elaborate 19th-century-styled costumes, contributing to their image as "women born in the wrong century".

The Tessai were perceived as wealthy bohemians in the vein of the mauve circle, Jaerevik clique, and Virginia Castiglione, the eccentric founder of Castiglioni. Certainly they played up the image, and ingratiated themselves with Maveáns by using their connections to obtain supplies and distribute non-essential goods during the Liberation War and National Obligation period. Modern biographers generally agree that they were not as wealthy as they were thought to be, but they excelled at maintaining the perception and engaging in unusual schemes to obtain money when necessary.

By the end of the war, the Tessai had already gained significant influence and become celebrated members of the community. They concentrated their activism on the arts and culture. They strongly championed Art Deco and neoclassical architecture, and supported extensive beautification of Maveás during its reconstruction, giving it an image of "a city of marble and parks". They formed close links with the city press, particularly The Maveás Free Press (whose writer Rosamund Laselle was mockingly dubbed their "court stenographer") and L'Petit Écho. They sponsored numerous artistic spaces, events, and happenings in the city.

They largely stayed out of politics, but their prestige and influence created a dual power situation, where communal assemblies and the city council often followed their recommendations, particularly for public works and cultural policy. It was said that they had final approval for the mayors of Maveás during their heyday. They were supporters of francité, demopolitanism, socialised luxury, and aristerokratia, becoming close friends with figures like Sima Daián, Ser Şanorin, Isabel Longstowe, and Carmen Dell'Orefice.

Esua Nadel joked that the Tessai "modestly appointed themselves the arbiters and living embodiments of Maveás, and were remarkably successful at shaping the city in their image". Their activities captivated the public, being part of a tradition stretching back to the mauve circle and Virginia Castiglione, and inspired several other such aristerokratia groups to form, of which the most prominent was the Mişeyáqueens.

Their influence and prominence declined after the Golden Revolution, and they were largely retired in their last years. Their legacy endures in Maveás' self-image, reputation in Gylias for elegance, and its distinctive architecture and urban planning.