Description
Paris: Librairie de Firmin-Didot et Cie., 1894. . Large 4to. 24.7 x 33cm. Contemporary half shagreen. (II-232 p.-XLII p. de pl.)... OCLC Number 959015205.... Grandidier’s collecting practice was not just driven by the charm of exoticism—it was an academic, conscientious, and long-term focus. The more than 200-page La céramique chinoise published the year of his installation at the Louvre best records and testifies to the time and effort he devoted to the collection. Using pieces from his collection as examples and illustrations, the publication offered the public one of the most extensive textual introductions to Chinese porcelain available, covering such topics as origins, kilns, textures, colours, subject matters, decoration, and reigns (Grandidier, 1894)...... Having a great sense of the contents and limitations of other existing collections in France, Britain, and the United States, Grandidier expressed in his book his intention to form the best collection in Europe for France in terms of ‘completeness and quality’, which he regarded as the two most important collecting criteria (ibid., pp. 4–6). For completeness, he advanced an eclectic policy: the collecting of ‘all genres, all types, and all times’ (ibid., p. 5.....). In terms of quality, on the other hand, he favoured porcelains made for local consumption rather than export pieces which he thought were ‘less instructive and less beautiful’ (ibid., p. 6). According to Raymond Koechlin (1860–1931), collector, politician, and general secretary of the Friends of the Louvre, Grandidier sold his family property in Corbeil in exchange for porcelains and was said to have continued collecting after his donation to the Louvre and even while dying on his sickbed (Koechlin, 1914, p. 12)...... Choosing the Louvre, the national museum of highest reputation, as the repository of his great collection was not random (Fig. 2). Unlike collectors such as the couple Adolphe d’Ennery (1811–99) and Clémence d’Ennery (1823–98) and Henri Cernuschi (1821–96), Grandidier chose not to display the porcelains in his home. That choice positioned his collection in a spectrum between a display of French imperialism and the open cultural appreciation of another nation. Indeed, the expansion of the Louvre’s collection in the 19th century from European to Eastern culture coincided with the expansionist actions of successive French governments, from the founding of the Egyptian collection following the expedition of Napoleon to the formation of the Salle d’Orient (Orient Room) for Muslim art correspondent to France’s intervention in the Near East during the reign of Napoleon III (Koechlin, 1914, pp. 3–5)......In 1894, instead of being integrated into a smaller collection of Chinese artefacts primarily collected by military generals and diplomats under the maritime museum at the Louvre, Grandidier’s collection was installed in a new space established in the Denon Wing—under the name the Musée d’Extrême-Orient (Museum of the Far East). It occupied the long rectangular space on the entresol on the ground floor (Fig. 3) below the famous grand gallery for Italian School paintings. The promising area matched with the ambitions of both Gaston Migeon (1861–1930), curator of the department of objects d'art, and Grandidier, newly appointed curator of the Musée de l’Extrême-Orient, to expand and ‘complete’ the collection as well as provide a pleasurable visual experience to the visitor (Musée du Louvre, 1897, p. 24; Guide Joanne, 1912, p. 63). To enhance visual attention to the artistic value of the porcelains, the space was specially designed. The entresol, which featured more rooms (eleven, plus two long galleries) than other spaces in the Denon Wing, created visual divisions favourable for allowing the visitor to concentrate on the details of the porcelain works...... The vitrines, according to Koechlin, were in monochrome and simple rectangular form so as not to divert the audience’s attention, as in the galleries of western ceramics (Koechlin, 1914, p. 11). Light was sufficiently provided through windows facing the Seine. To avoid overcrowding, the collector transferred some pieces considered secondary in terms of aesthetics to the Musée de Rouen (ibid., p. 12). On the other hand, trying not to sacrifice ‘completeness’, Grandidier used consoles with more than four levels of shelves to create additional space for display.........Grand in-4. Demi chagrin rouge époque, dos à nerfs, tête dorée. 42 planches en héliogravure. Envoi autographe de l'auteur à Marc Promis, financier et propriétaire du chateau de Ciscours.
