Image via Wikipedia
By contributing editor Paul Paradis, Art Historian, Specialist Consultant in French Furniture and Decorative Arts
COLLECTION OVERLOAD IN PARIS
IN THE DAYS during and following the Château de Gourdon auction at Christie’s (See Paris Art Market Buzz 11 April) I found myself running back and forth from Drouot to Sotheby’s, back to Drouot, on to Artcurial in order not to miss a pre-auction exhibition. Collection this and collection that, I could not keep up. The auctioneer Aguttes dispersed the Thierry and Christine de Chirée Collection (contents of their historic home, the Monastère de la Visitation d’Avignon) at Drouot on March 29th and 30th. Then Gros & Delettrez auctioned the long-awaited Paul-Louis Weiller collection from April 5th to the 8th. The five-day sale was the talk of the town and the day of the public viewing everyone, and I mean everyone, in the art world was at the door for the 11:00 am opening.
The LVMH magnate Bernard Arnault (who actually owns Christie’s through his Artemis investment fund and is picture on left...image via Wikipedia) strolled by as did every major antique dealer and expert in Paris. A mysterious dealer (visits by appointment only) from the Parc Monçeau area said something to the affect of the items being uneven in quality. “But where did they keep all of this stuff!” a friend exclaimed to me as we strolled from room to room packed with precious objects and furniture. An imposingly tall and friendly dealer from the Place Beauveau mentioned that although the collection occupied the entire first floor of Drouot (six sale rooms) this was just “du ménage” (a clean up), or a tiny portion of the contents of Weiller’s rumored 90 residences. Apparently he collected homes as well as furniture and objets d’art. How quaint.
Logo to the Paul-Louis Weiller Collection
Paul Louis Weiller, born in 1893 to an industrialist family specialized in early electrical and telephone networks, became obsessed with aviation at a young age when he witnessed a flight contest organized by his father for the Wright brothers in 1906. He became a pilot and imposed aerial photography as a key aspect of reconnaissance missions. Injured several times, by the age of 22 he was the head of an entire industry, Gnome et Rhône, manufacturer of airplane engines. He purchased CIDNA three years later which would become Air France after nationalization in 1933. The rest of his jet-set mythical life is well documented in France. His arrest in 1940 by the Nazis (he was jewish) and subsequent escape to Cuba and Canada. The purchase of the 17th century hôtel particulier in the Marais (Hotel Amelot de Bisseuil) where he housed artists such as Maurice Béjart and others is part of the his legend as a generous patron of the arts. The story is screaming for a Hollywood screenplay, or at least a two-part Vanity Fair article.
Hôtel Amelot de Bisseuil, 1657
Drouot had taken out the big guns, with classy signage for each room indicating the theme (broken into auction sessions) of that portion of the collection, an entire room devoted to projection of a film about the illustrious aviator-entrepreneur as well as for registration and purchase of, yet again, a boxed set of catalogues (this time, for €100). The shimmering silver background of the slip-cover bearing the outline of a rearing white pegasus, Weiller’s emblem, was an accurate precursor to what would be sold.
The room devoted to the presentation of the collection of silver and jewelry was dazzling in its unbridled glory, with the array gleaming platters, ewers, and tumblers on a multi-level display reminiscent of a banquet at Versailles.
Silver from the Paul-Louis Weiller collection
Crowning the display was one of the the lynchpins of the auction, an ornate neoclassical silver tureen by Viennese silversmith Ignaz Joseph Würth, executed from 1779 to 1781 for the Duke of Saxe-Teschen and Archduchess Marie-Christine of Austria (sister of Marie-Antoinette). The tureen was part of the “second service” ordered by the Duke which originally contained more than 300 pieces. The naturalist treatment of the leaves and vegetables on the handle and dolphins supporting the basin hark back to the spirit of the French Rocaille period, however the dense foliate scrolls, overall gadrooning of the surfaces and the acanthus garlands along the edge of the platter are all resolutely from the bold neoclassical repertoire back in fashion in Europe since the mid 18th century. (See Paris Art Market Buzz 19 November 2009)
Weighing in at a total of 7.7 kilograms, this Royal piece of tableware was obviously meant to impress arriving Court dinner guests as well as to serve actual food which would be brought in later in the evening using the fitted liners. At an estimate of €150 000 - €200 000, I might think twice before using it to serve up some stew. The tureen made €290 000 hammer price at the auction, with one highly dissatisfied bidder who mistakenly thought he had acquired the piece but left the room in an angry tirade when the auctioneer explained that he had misunderstood. Passions were certainly flaring around this collection.
Silver tureen from Saxe-Teschen Service, 1779-1781
Weiller clearly appreciated Royal provenance as attested by another fascinating lot in the collection, a pair of silver dish covers ordered by Catherine The Great of Russia (1729-1796) in 1770 as part of an enormous service of 3 000 pieces for her lover, the Count Gregory Orloff. The now mythical service executed in part by Parisian silversmiths Jacques Roettiers (1707-1784) and his son Jacques-Nicolas (1736-1788), was said to have cost 1 200 000 livres. It was partly dispersed at auctions by the Soviet regime held in Berlin in the 1930s and rare examples outside Russia are in the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum as well as the Musée Nissim de Camondo. Again the neoclassical element is clear here with the pine-cone handles, large gadrooning on the surface and the laurel garlands. Pieces from this rare service sometimes reappear at auction, but the last I can recall would be the series of plates sold at Christie’s Paris in 2004. The pair of Imperial treasures made €125 000 hammer price at the auction, slightly above the low estimate. I had expected more of a fight and perhaps a museum or two to take an interest. The mysteries of the auction world are deep.
Silver dish cover from the Orloff Service, 1771
The largest room presenting the principal furniture, objets d’art and old master paintings was laden with flowers and tastefully arranged with the highlight of this portion of the collection (Session I) on its own little pedestal, another Imperial item: a rare Russian commode bearing the Arms of Catherine The Great as well as of Siberia in the marquetry of the top. The veneer is in rosewood, kingwood, ebony, in an intricate criss-cross pattern in ivory inlay and the mounts in solid silver, quite a testament to the importance of the Provenance. It belonged to the Demidoff family, important mining and smelting industrialists from Tula who were granted Nobility due to their contribution to Russian industry. Their vast mining interests in Siberia might explain the coat of arms on the top as well as on the angle mounts.
Russian Commode with Coat of Arms of Catherine the Great, 1762
The chest of drawers became a bit of the symbol for the collection, ubiquitously reproduced on the marketing materials, catalogues and in art magazines. It was estimated from €500 000 - €700 000 which perhaps proved to be overly ambitious. The day of the auction I was a bit confused when bidding opened at only €250 000, less than half the low estimate, and the auctioneer announced €350 000 before quickly moving on to the next lot. In Drouot practice this meant that the lot was unsold, although it took me until the next day to fully realize what had happened. I am more used to the clear-cut “nous passons” (lets move on) expression employed by auctioneers at Christie’s and other major houses. Although the execution of the marquetry is less precise and more rough than that by French ébénistes of the time, the unique commode has a certain elegance in its bombé shape and delicate proportions. It will be interesting to try to find out what happened to the treasure, perhaps a post-auction offer was made?
Angle mount in solid silver bearing the coat of arms of Siberia
The entire collection performed extremely well during the five days of auction despite this set back, totaling €23 773 469, almost four times the forecasted low estimate of €8 000 000. Some real auction thrills took place during the small portion devoted to Asian art (25 lots) when a young Chinese man bidding on behalf of someone using a white Iphone pushed the price of an exquisitely carved rust-colored jade vase to €1 600 000 hammer price. The refined piece from the Qianlong period (c. 1785) possessed two Imperial seals and is engraved with a poem written by the Emperor himself. Although the estimate was non disclosed in advance, bidding began at a mere €200 000, so I assume that this was an unexpected surprise. The same person bid on a series of jade cups pushing the hammer prices many times their estimates. After the fireworks, I boldly questioned the youngster as to who he was bidding on behalf of and he replied that it was a Foundation. China has more surprises in store for the auction world I am sure.
A carved jade Imperial vase, € 2 000 000 (including fees)
Unless otherwise indicated, photos by Paul Paradis.
