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Although both her and her husband did not go on long journeys
over seas, they accumulated much of the precious artefacts from antique shops that they
visited in their surrounding area.
The collection mainly consists of Chinese and Japanese works of art along with furniture,
lacquers, ceramics, bronzes and carvings, but Madame d'Ennery also assembled an incredible
collection of over 300 netsuke from Tokugawa Period onwards, which was from the years 1603
to 1837 and we put into display cases inlaid with mother of pearl. The netsuke is
actually a precious clasp that was often sculpted in ivory and carved in the form of
insects, plants and animals and they were the only jewels allowed to be worn by men of the
second rank, the first rank being the Samurai.
Madame d'Ennery ordered herself 18th and 19th century ceramics from Kyoto, that are so
rare now, plus pieces of Namban Art, which is an artistic style that resulted from
contacts between the Japanese and Portuguese between the years 1550 and 1640, these
included lacquered trunks with humpback lids that were inlaid with mother-of-pearl in
floral or geometric motifs, with some of these trunks having been brought back from Japan
by an ancestor of Madame d'Ennery who discovered them in the family attic.
Madame d'Ennery also found chimeras and strange masks that were used to decorate the walls
and are still displayed on the walls today.
This incredible collection served as a setting for magnificent parties in Paris, for the presentation of operas written by
Adolphe d'Ennery and composed by Massenet and Gounod, and even for opera shows.
The audience was always comprised of many famous people such as the Goncourt brothers, who
were writers and the Prime Minister Georges Clémenceau, who donated the Musée d'Ennery
to the State in 1907.
For those of you that are interested in history and art, then a visit to this museum and
the Hotel d'Ennery in which it is housed, shows the fascination of the Far East that
became apparent at this time along with the architectural features of this unusual place
in a sumptuous second Empire setting.
You can arrange for group tours and guided tours along with conferences and you will be
pleased to know that photographs can be taken.
This museum in Paris opens on a Thursday and Sunday from
2pm through to 6pm, but is closed every other day of the week and on national holidays.
Address & Contact Details:
Musée d'Ennery
Hotel d'Ennery
59 Avenue Foch
75016
Paris
France
Telephone: 1 45 53 57 96
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