De la meilleure façon de constituer une collection. Le cas des émaux « byzantins » de Mikhaïl Botkine

The collection of supposedly “Byzantine” enamels belonging to Mikhail Petrovich Botkin (1839-1914) is a remarkable case in the history of collecting, particularly if one is interested in the collector’s motivation. The types of objects collected by Botkin changed as he travelled and with fashion: he...

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Main Author: Aglaé Achechova
Format: Article
Language:fra
Published: École du Louvre 2014-04-01
Series:Les Cahiers de l'École du Louvre
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/cel/483
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author Aglaé Achechova
author_facet Aglaé Achechova
author_sort Aglaé Achechova
collection DOAJ
description The collection of supposedly “Byzantine” enamels belonging to Mikhail Petrovich Botkin (1839-1914) is a remarkable case in the history of collecting, particularly if one is interested in the collector’s motivation. The types of objects collected by Botkin changed as he travelled and with fashion: he successively collected the works of the painter A. Ivanov, European medieval and Renaissance objets d’art, and then medieval Russian art. Botkin’s acquisition methods, entirely devoid of scruples, were well-known during his lifetime. The core of his collection, comprised of 171 cloisonné enamels on gold, most of which were thought to have come from Georgia, was put together over about 25 years, with no trips to the Caucasus by Botkin being known. From the publication of the catalogue of this collection in 1911, doubts concerning the authenticity of the pieces were expressed: was it possible to collect such a great number of extremely rare objects in such a short period of time? A thorough investigation by the designer of the house of Fabergé, François Birbaum, enabled the secret workshop that had produced most of the enamels in Mikhail Botkin’s collection to be discovered in 1914. The reasons for a collector to put together, apparently with full knowledge of the facts, a collection of fakes may be many: the control of the quantity and the quality of the pieces he was collecting, the mastery of the competition of the elimination of the concerns usually encountered: the rarity and uncertain provenance of the objects.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2262-208X
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publisher École du Louvre
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series Les Cahiers de l'École du Louvre
spelling doaj-art-c74218ce074a4204abddfb83d87b5bb02025-01-30T14:00:00ZfraÉcole du LouvreLes Cahiers de l'École du Louvre2262-208X2014-04-01410.4000/cel.483De la meilleure façon de constituer une collection. Le cas des émaux « byzantins » de Mikhaïl BotkineAglaé AchechovaThe collection of supposedly “Byzantine” enamels belonging to Mikhail Petrovich Botkin (1839-1914) is a remarkable case in the history of collecting, particularly if one is interested in the collector’s motivation. The types of objects collected by Botkin changed as he travelled and with fashion: he successively collected the works of the painter A. Ivanov, European medieval and Renaissance objets d’art, and then medieval Russian art. Botkin’s acquisition methods, entirely devoid of scruples, were well-known during his lifetime. The core of his collection, comprised of 171 cloisonné enamels on gold, most of which were thought to have come from Georgia, was put together over about 25 years, with no trips to the Caucasus by Botkin being known. From the publication of the catalogue of this collection in 1911, doubts concerning the authenticity of the pieces were expressed: was it possible to collect such a great number of extremely rare objects in such a short period of time? A thorough investigation by the designer of the house of Fabergé, François Birbaum, enabled the secret workshop that had produced most of the enamels in Mikhail Botkin’s collection to be discovered in 1914. The reasons for a collector to put together, apparently with full knowledge of the facts, a collection of fakes may be many: the control of the quantity and the quality of the pieces he was collecting, the mastery of the competition of the elimination of the concerns usually encountered: the rarity and uncertain provenance of the objects.https://journals.openedition.org/cel/483
spellingShingle Aglaé Achechova
De la meilleure façon de constituer une collection. Le cas des émaux « byzantins » de Mikhaïl Botkine
Les Cahiers de l'École du Louvre
title De la meilleure façon de constituer une collection. Le cas des émaux « byzantins » de Mikhaïl Botkine
title_full De la meilleure façon de constituer une collection. Le cas des émaux « byzantins » de Mikhaïl Botkine
title_fullStr De la meilleure façon de constituer une collection. Le cas des émaux « byzantins » de Mikhaïl Botkine
title_full_unstemmed De la meilleure façon de constituer une collection. Le cas des émaux « byzantins » de Mikhaïl Botkine
title_short De la meilleure façon de constituer une collection. Le cas des émaux « byzantins » de Mikhaïl Botkine
title_sort de la meilleure facon de constituer une collection le cas des emaux byzantins de mikhail botkine
url https://journals.openedition.org/cel/483
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