Collection of Mr and Mrs C. Italy
On sale November 19, 2024
The collection of jewelry and objects from the Orient presented today is the result of thirty years of passion and travels by the C. couple. Pierluigi C. was born in Marignano at the end of the Second World War, between town and countryside, in a post-war Italy where his spirit of adventure found fertile ground. Trained as an Architect and Humanist first and foremost, it was upon meeting his future wife, Celestina Z., that his passion for the Orient was born. She discovered India through Sonali Dasgupta, wife of Roberto Rossellini, who ran a boutique selling Indian jewellery and objects in Rome, which Celestina visited whenever she had the chance. In the 1970s, this new shared passion found its outlet with travellers returning from India and Nepal: hippies who had left for Asia in search of spirituality, or researchers who often became antique dealers still active today. With these merchants, sometimes improvised and sometimes well-versed in the art of trade, Pierluigi and Celestina began to collect all kinds of objects from the Far East. Pierluigi and Celestina began to collect all kinds of objects from the Far East, initially following an aesthetic vision and the fashions of the time: Chinese and Japanese weapons and porcelain. Finally, in the 1980s, came the time of great journeys. Tibet had just reopened its borders to foreigners, and the couple began 20 years of peregrinations around the Himalayas, following the different interests that emerged as the years went by. The collection grew and focused on this part of the world that seemed to have been frozen centuries in the past. Each journey becomes more exceptional, more specific, in search of temples and cities lost in the accounts of ancient travellers like the great Italian Orientalist Giuseppe Tucci. Northern India, Nepal, Ladakh, Mustang, Tibet, Sikkim, Bhutan: so many countries that gave life to deep friendships, exceptional encounters and a lifelong passion for this fusion couple. At the same time, Pierluigi began studying Tibetan at the Ghe Pel Ling Institute in Milan, and pursued in-depth research into Tibetan carpets during his travels. For this study, a collection of several hundred carpets was assembled for iconographic and didactic research purposes, which gave life to a traveling exhibition called “The Year of the Dragon” (“L’anno del dragone” in Italian) which, from 1991, was offered in several cities in northern Italy. To explain these Tibetan artifacts and preserve the results of this study, Pierluigi wrote the first book in Italian on the subject, published the same year: “Tibetan and Ancient Chinese Carpets (“Tappeti del Tibet e della vecchia Cina” in Italian).
This sample collection for sale is the result of the couple’s shared passion for ethnic jewellery and ornaments in gold and silver. The collection was built up from the 1970s, and grew during their long journeys, even after Pierluigi’s sudden death at the end of the 1990s. Celestina continued to travel through the Himalayas and the Near East, which accounts for the geographical breadth of the items presented. Whether purchased for everyday wear or for contemplation, the collection is highly eclectic: from objects chosen for their silversmithing techniques, such as Kriss handles or Indian Nâths, to spectacular examples of ethnic silver jewellery, such as Hmong necklaces. While the most impressive jewels come from India, where the profusion of gold, pearls, stones and enamels highlights the opulence of the Mughal style, other pieces have been chosen more for their finesse of execution or their ethnic and cultural testimony. We are faced with a whole universe of shapes and colors, at once so similar and so different, proof of this extraordinary chain linking the Far East, Central Asia and the Near East.
A rare gold and enamel with delicate glass inlays “Kada” anklet
Northern India, Rajasthan State, Jaipur, 19th century
Weight (brut): 226, 73g – Diam. 4 1/16 in
6,000 – 8,000 €
A gold “Kriss” dagger handle
Indonesia, Bali, 19th century
Weight (brut) 229,26g – Length. 5 1/2 in
5,000 – 7,000 €
A large gold two-rows “Kali-Tiru” bride necklace
Southern India, Tamil Nadu State, 19th century
Weight (brut) 682,44g – Total length. 23 1/4 in
30,000 – 50,000 €
A gold nose ring “Nâth” with delicate glass inlays and pearls
India, Himachal Pradesh State, 20th century
Weight (brut) 29,42g – Diam. 2 3/4 in
500 – 700 €
Discover the “Jewellery and ornaments from Asia and the Orient – Orientalism – Islamic Art” auction
Tuesday, November 19, 2 pm
Hôtel Drouot – Room 6
9 rue Drouot, 75009 Paris
CONTACTS
Déborah Teboul – Director of the Oriental Arts department
+33 1 53 30 30 57 – [email protected]
Ariane de Miramon – Communications & Marketing Director
+33 1 53 30 30 68 – [email protected]