Collectors and dealers of Asian art in France (1750-1930)

As its many visitors discovered over the autumn and winter, this exhibition in Dijon is a complete success, hailed as it should be by the public and critics alike, and one that we can only endorse. From the originality of the theme to the relevance of the pieces selected, not to mention the quality of the presentation, which gives pride of place to rediscoveries and objects restored for the occasion, the exhibition is unquestionably faultless. The erudition of the subject is accompanied by commendable educational efforts, and is extended very harmoniously in the solid catalogue. Aimed at the curious and specialists alike, the database "Collectors, collectors and dealers in Asian art in France 1700-1939" was officially launched in October 2022 by the Institut national d’histoire de l’art, bringing to a close five rich years of a research programme that finds here an almost perfect incarnation.

From the first picture rail (ill. 1) welcoming the visitor, the tone is set: it is a very European Asia that is revealed here, which justifies the interest of La Tribune de l’Art. Although the non-Western arts are outside our strict thematic scope, this is fortunately not the case for the history of taste, the history of collections or the history of the art market, which form the basis of the exhibition’s message. On the left, regular visitors to the Musée du Louvre will recognise at a glance two of the four very famous cornet vases bearing the arms of the Regent Philippe d’Orléans, emblematic examples of pieces intended for export to Europe, the beautiful plate from the Duc de Penthièvre’s Chinese porcelain service will undoubtedly be a discovery for many connoisseurs, as it is a recent purchase by the Louvre’s Objets d’Art department, made in February 2022 from the Parisian dealer Nicolas Fournery. On the right, a superb two-door Japanese cabinet…