Investigating the Transatlantic Journeys of Emile Peyre’s Collection

by Servane Rodié-Dumon   

My research examines the formation and dispersal of Emile Peyre’s collection of decorative arts. A renowned French architect-decorator, Peyre (1828–1904) assembled more than 4,000 objects, including furniture, tapestries, sculptures, metalwork, and woodwork dating from the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the 18th century. Although he ultimately bequeathed his collection to the Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, he also acted as a dealer throughout his lifetime. He sold objects to private collectors and museums in France and abroad, playing an active role in the transatlantic circulation of decorative arts in the late 19th century. Among the many transactions documented in his account books and correspondence, his dealings with the American architect and decorator Stanford White are particularly significant. My project investigates the complex biographies of these objects in the 19th and early 20th centuries, tracing their shifting uses and values over time.

With the support of a Decorative Arts Trust Research Grant, I traveled to New York to consult several archival repositories and examine objects that Peyre sold to Stanford White. The most notable of these is the set of marquetry panels from the Chapelle de La Bâtie d’Urfé, dating to the 16th century and now housed at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (figure 1). Until this trip, I had only seen the panels in photographs; viewing them in person allowed me to study them closely. I also photographed the marquetry cherub frieze (figure 2)—an element often excluded from published images that focus on the full boiserie or the altar piece.

I spent several hours in The Met’s object files with assistance from the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts. The panels were re-installed at the museum in a configuration that echoes their original placement in the French chapel. The museum’s records contain extensive information on this reinstallation, which was undertaken by staff in the 1960s, and this documentation is essential to reconstructing the objects’ later history.

I also conducted research at the Frick Art Research Library, where I consulted microfilms of White’s correspondence, and at the Morgan Library. This trip enabled me to gather a substantial body of archival material—including letters, inventories, and photographs—that will prove invaluable for my dissertation.

At the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park, NY, I examined objects that might have a Peyre provenance. White acted as a purchasing agent for the house, and I focused on three pieces of furniture: a table with a porphyry top (figures 3 and 4) and two Renaissance wooden cabinets. The table, located in the center of the Elliptical Hall, matches a “grande console et son dessus en porphyre composée avec un carrosse” listed in Peyre’s record of sales to White. An entry in Peyre’s acquisition book—“La grande console en bois doré LXIV avec son dessus en porphyre”—confirms the identification. With the help of Seth Frost, the museum technician, I was able to closely examine the table. It is a characteristic yet intriguing example of the late 19th-century practice of repurposing older wood fragments and materials to create revival pieces of furniture. This raises questions about how such composite objects were perceived and valued at the time. Further research will help determine how the elements were assembled; this object will feature prominently in my dissertation. After surveying additional objects at the mansion that may relate to Peyre, I visited the curatorial storage facility to consult archival materials.

This week of research in New York and Hyde Park yielded new insights, and I will compare the data gathered there with documents preserved at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. I am grateful to the Decorative Arts Trust for supporting my travel.

Servane Rodié-Dumon is a PhD student at the Université d’Artois in Arras, France.