VIGNE Joseph (EN)

Biographical Article

Joseph Vigne was the son of Célestin Vigne, a carpenter and merchant from Carpentras, and Caroline Roux, without profession. He led a military career, where he rose through the ranks and distinguished himself in Cochinchina.

From Marine Infantry to Indigenous Affairs

Vigne studied at the college of Toulon, from which he graduated with a bachelor of science on November 11, 1858. Since he intended to have a military career, he prepared for the entrance examination to the school of Saint-Cyr in Toulon. The orals passed successfully at the Faculty of Marseille. On August 11, 1859, he was admitted to the Imperial Special Military School, after being declared fit to serve in the army by the Navy health service on April 19. He entered service as a second lieutenant on October 1, 1861. He was assigned to Brest, under the command of General Charles Martin des Pallières (1823-1876). On November 28, 1862, he joined the 3rd Marine Infantry Regiment. Encamped in Cherbourg with the 18th company, he embarked for Cochinchina. He arrived there during the month of April. Battalion commander Ernest Joseph Marchaisse (1857-1917) referred to him as "an intelligent and distinguished officer who had a perfect love of his profession and was active and vigorous". He is said to have received a "very fine education". He had an advantageous physique and was therefore endowed with "perfect conduct and dress" (SHD, 3 YE 9048). On August 16, 1863, his favorable grades earned him the rank of Lieutenant. He then resided in the city of Saigon. On October 1, he joined the ranks of the 2nd Infantry Regiment and was detached on the 29th to the telegraph service. While he still occupied this position in August 1865, his evaluation marks proved to be ambiguous. His superiors spoke of an "officer of the future [if only] he would work at his profession". They deduced that "he doesn't like the regulatory department.” For this reason, Vigne was transferred to Native Affairs. Indeed, he was said to be more suited to the service of the general staff than to that of the troops (SHD, 3 YE 9048).

The evaluation marks for the years 1863 to 1866, specified in the registration number attached to the file for the Légion d’honneur, nevertheless diminish the officer’s seriousness, as constantly reported.

The Expedition to the Plain of Reeds (February-March 1866)

In the years 1865, the situation in Cochinchina seemed to have stabilised and the conquest seemed to be completed. The Vietnamese infrastructure was rendered obsolete by the insurrection of 1863, which responded to the treaty of June 5, 1862, by which "the kingdom of Annam ceded the three provinces of Sài Gòn, My Tho, and Biên Hòa" to France ( Fourniau C. and Trịnh Văn Tha̕o, 1999, p. 230). The "withdrawal of the mandarins from the occupied territories" allowed the exercise of a "direct administration" (Fourniau C., Trịnh Văn Tha̕o, 1999, p. 230), without intermediary. A military regime was set up and entrusted to the Navy. Admiral Pierre-Paul-Marie de La Grandière (1807-1876) was at the head of this government; leading a "direction of the interior", as established by the decree of April 9, 1864 (Fourniau C., Trịnh Văn Tha̕o, 1999, p. 230).

However, revolt movements continue to affect the western region of Cochinchina, and more particularly the region of Vính Long. Indeed, the court of Huê refused to hand over this dissident territory to the French authorities. Joseph Vigne was confronted with this kind of endemic rebellions. He took part in the Plain of Reeds expedition, irrigating the region of Mytho. He seized the Fort of Sa-Tien (?), under the command of Captain Boubée. While suffering from two injuries, Joseph Vigne continued to guide his men. For this act of courage, he was made a Knight of the Legion of Honor on June 23, 1866. This episode marked a turning point in his career. His superiors changed their attitude towards him. They conferred on him the rank of Captain on August 1867 and gave him a position of responsibility.

The Role of Inspector of Indigenous Affairs in Cochinchina

Joseph Vigne was thus appointed second class Inspector of Native Affairs. Indeed, the Vietnamese provinces, first placed under the responsibility of a naval officer, were then administered by inspectors of Indigenous Affairs, whose powers would be defined between 1873 and 1876. His mission was "to take care of the military profession by disciplining and exercising the Matas du Canloo", these native militiamen, "of whom he had [already] made good vanguard soldiers" (SHD, 3 YE 9048). The decree of January 7, 1863 published by the governor of Cochinchina, Vice-Admiral Louis-Adolphe Bonard (1805-1867), and the legislative action of Admiral de La Grandière definitively established this function. Placed under the orders of the Admiral-Governor, the Inspector of Native Affairs directs the provinces assigned to him. This was mainly to rationalise the structural organisation of the territory. Jean-Louis de Lanessan (1843-1919), associate professor at the Faculty of Medicine of Paris, deputy of the Seine and future governor general of Indochina (1891-1894), thus paints the portrait of these inspectors. "They were generally young naval officers who had come to Cochinchina with the first expedition, who had been present for all the affaris, who had traveled for years in the rivers and arroyos on board gunboats or sailing boats". Jean-Louis de Lanessan also evokes a close link with the population, adding that “[in] the frequentation of Annamese women […], they had learned the language of the country; many had contracted these liaisons […] and had taken a liking to this corner of the earth where they found more independence than in military life” (1889, p. 640-642). However, Joseph Vigne had been in Cochinchina for four years, having arrived there five years after the landing in the bay of Tourane led by Admiral Charles Rigault de Genouilly (1807-1873) on September 1, 1858. He therefore had some experience on the ground.

The freedom of action given to him by this new position undoubtedly greatly facilitated his knowledge of this region. Similarly, he was led to develop close relations with the local population that was placed under his jurisdiction. It was perhaps by following this sensitivity that Joseph Vigne began this collection of objects that he sent to the Inguimbertine.

The senior commander of the troops in Cochinchina noted the zeal, “solidity", and "vigour" of his temperament, as well as the intelligence and energy he displayed in accomplishing his tasks. General Élie Jean de Vassoigne (1811-1898), Inspector General, also praised the officer's conduct, and encouraged him to return to service in the field. “[In] his interest, he must not dwell on native affairs,” he advised in December 1867 (SHD, 3 YE 9048). He thus became aide-de-camp to General Martin des Pallières, in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871).

The Journey of Circumnavigation

It is difficult to say where the military campaign ended and where a journey of pleasure or scientific interest began. Perhaps the military mission was a pretext for collecting. In any case, it is likely that Joseph Vigne took advantage of his return trip to build up his collections. After having moved around the areas related to his administrative attribution - China and Annam (Vietnam) - he made a stopover in New Caledonia and Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka), evoking his stay in Pointe-de-Galles (present-day Galle). These were also more excursions than a linear path leading to a destination. On July 15, 1868, he informed Professor Antoine-Dominique Eysséric (1813-1892) that he was in Wales. On August 6, he said he was aboard the Gulong, referring to a short stay in New Caledonia. On October 6, he visited Wales again, and on November 23, he joined Saigon (bibliothèque Inguimbertine, Ms. 2496). Vigne finally returned to France, in Carpentras, on March 20, 1869.

Joseph Vigne’s career was interrupted at the age of twenty-nine, when he was killed at the battle of Sedan, on the battlefield of Bazeilles, on [1st] September 1870. On April 2, 1889, the municipal council of Carpentras decided , after deliberation, to give the name Vigne to a street crossing the city center, in homage to his journey (SHD, 3 YE 9048).

The Collection

Joseph Vigne placed himself in the long line of great travellers and explorers starting in the 18th century. The collecting enterprise that started in Cochinchina seems to stem from his mission and his administrative duties as an inspector of Indigenous Affairs. This enterprisewas a way of understanding the way of life of the local population and of taking the testimonies of tradition and know-how. His enthusiasm for this region is palpable in his writings (AM Carpentras, Ms. 2582-2583). The desire to enrich the corpus was just as important.

A Documentary Collection

The deposit book gives an account of the donations made by Joseph Vigne on his return in 1869 (AM Carpentras, CG 2582), through the intermediary of Professor Eysséric, including: Chinese paintings in the form of scrolls, three terracotta statuettes from China, four Annamese bronzes, two fans for mandarins. Vigne drew up the list of objects sent to the Inguimbertine museum on his return and made an inventory. This lists the objects according to their geographical origin and provides additional information in more or less detailed notices.

From his stopover in New Caledonia, Joseph Vigne collected fifteen objects of an ethnographic nature, souvenirs of the daily life of the Canaques: bamboo engraved with multiple scenes, vegetable fibre fabrics (called tapa), shell bracelets, weapons, samples of earth, on which the indigenous people fed in case of scarcity, and loincloths worn by women. Referring to the naturalist Jacques Julien Houtou de La Billardière (1755-1834), involved in the expedition of Jean-François de Galaup La Pérouse (1741-1788), the whole acquires a dimension that is scientific, or at the very least documentary (AM Carpentras , Ms. 2582-2583).

The Collecting Process: Between Active Search and Indigenous Gratification

We are unaware of the nature of the object collection process. "Bizarre" seems one likely selection criterion (AM Carpentras, Ms. 2582-2583). The objects must certainly have been collected as discoveries were made, while others could come from human contact with the local populations. The acquisition was made by means of gifts or exchanges. Joseph Vigne thus acquired a tapa, through the intermediary of General des Pallières, who had been offered it by the hands of the chief of the island of Wagap (municipality of Poindimié), as a sign of friendship.

Despite the impromptu nature of the collection, the intention is clear: Joseph Vigne wished to enrich the collections of the museum of Carpentras and envisaged the donation during his trip, as mentioned in his letters addressed to the professor (bibliothèque Inguimbertine, Ms. 2496).

The Numismatic Collection or the Archaeology of East-West Exchanges

Joseph Vigne deplored the incomplete nature of the series compiled for the museum, which was sent on June 18, 1870. He noted as follows: "In my opinion, it would be very interesting to be able to bring together, for each [country], the collection of all coins which were or are used there: this is the goal I have sought to achieve for Ceylon” (AM Carpentras, Ms. 2582-2583).

This collection thus highlights the links between colonial Europe and Asia. Joseph Vigne distinguished four phases in the colonial history of Sri Lanka, a division to which the numismatic collection strives to correspond. The Portuguese occupation began in 1507, with the conquest of Ormouz by Alfonso de Alburquerque (1452-1515), and ended in 1656, expelled from Colombo by the Dutch, who dominated the island until 1796. On this date, the English seized the island, to annex it in 1815 to the kingdom of Kandy, an independent monarchical state under colonial domination located in the center of the country. The Dutch coins, bearing the effigy of the two successive coats of arms of the VOC (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie), are particularly suggestive of this vision.

The Constitution of Book Knowledge on China

Joseph Vigne also endeavoured to document the territories through a book collection. The library thus constituted contained 69 books. Vigne emphasised the importance in China of the "Five Classics" of Chinese thought, the foundation of Confucianism: the Yijing (易經) [Book of Mutations], the Chunqiu Zuozhuan 春秋左傳 (Annals of Spring and Autumn or Annals of the Lu), the Shijing (詩經) (Classic Verses), the Lijing (禮經) [Classic Rites or Memoirs on Decorum and Ceremonies) and Yuejing (樂經) (Classic Music).

Bringing together this set was an intentional quest, since Joseph Vigne was probably aware of their value. Reading the Five Books that were written between the 11th and 3rd centuries BC. J.-C. was necessary for the students competing for the examination of the scholars to become civil servants.

Vigne did not neglect works he described as "secondary" (AM Carpentras, Ms. 2582-2583). The Gia Dinh Thông Chi (Description of the country of the Giaodinh) is an example of this and has a particular value. This book would have helped him in understanding the territory of Cochinchina and would have accompanied him in his duties as Inspector of Indigenous Affairs.

Collecting and Collecting: Two Concomitant Movements

Upon his death, Catherine Caroline Roux, mother of Joseph Vigne, bequeathed the last objects that her son had kept for his personal enjoyment to the Carpentras museum. Thus, "two beautiful Chinese pieces of furniture in rosewood, decorated with ivory inlays and a few musical instruments", including three Chinese drums, joined the reserves of the Inguimbertine (AM Carpentras, Ms. 2582-2583). This interest in Chinese musical instruments is manifested by a set of instruments that belong to the family of percussion (drum, cymbal of the Bac and Chep Xa type, and gong), wind instruments (oboe, transverse flute of the Ong Guyen and Ong Sao type) and strings (lute of the Dong Trong type, Dou Thi or pipa [琵琶] as well as viol, of the huqin [鬍琴] type).

This sub-collection, which entered the museum's collections posthumously, attests to the existence of two parallel movements within the practice of collecting. However, it is impossible for us to trace the exact portrait of this collection with multiple aspects and to see how it fit into the family home.

Thus, we can distinguish two logics of acquisition of these objects that now lack context. The collection serves the project – designed in advance? – of scientific documentation. Joseph Vigne identified a certain number of "specimens" for this purpose, to use his own terms (AM Carpentras, Ms. 2582). The personal collection – intentional? – satisfies an aesthetic and sensory enjoyment. In fact, the objects do not fall under the same status or the same use: one is external to the object, the other is a per se.