LATE 19TH/ EARLY 20TH CENTURY

‌This magnificent chimneypiece was installed in the château d'Hennemont, Saint-Germain-En-Laye, home of the pharmacist and businessman Henri-Edmont Canonne (1867-1961). Having made his fortune in 1904 with the success of the popular Valda throat pastille, Canonne commissioned the architect Henri Duchampt to build the château for him in 1907. His wealth also allowed him to acquire an incredible collection of Impressionist masterpieces including seventeen of Claude Monet's Nymphéas, as well as pictures by Bonnard, Cézanne, Pissarro, Renoir, Signac, Sisley and Vuillard, amongst others; many of these now grace the walls of prominent museums. His collection was published by A. Alexandre, La Collection Canonne, une histoire en action de l'impressionnisme et de ses suites, Paris, 1930. Several important works formerly in his collection have been sold by Christie's, most recently Claude Monet's, Nymphéas, temps gris, painted in 1907 which sold in London, 28 June 2022, lot 38 for £30,059,500 (including premium).
‌
‌Château d'Hennemont was sold in 1928 to Tukojirao Holkar III, formerly Maharaja of Indore, whose son Yeshwant Rao Holkar II, Maharaja of Indore (1908-1961) used the ch‌âteau to entertain his wide circle of avante guard and artistic friends including the photographer Man Ray. His tastes were quite different to Indian princes before him, embracing Modern Design rather than more traditional styles from the 17th and 18th centuries. He boldly commissioned the German architect Eckart Muthesiu to design Manik Bagh (Jewel Garden), Indore to house what was considered to be one of the world's most important collections of Modern Design. The Maharaja's collection was celebrated in the 2019-2020 exhibition Modern Maharajah: Patron of the 1930s at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris. Oliver Gamet, the museum director commented that “The West has always been inspired by the East but [the Maharaja] was one of the very few to do the inverse.”