ZARIFI Nicolas (EN)

Biographical Article

Biographical details on Nicolas Zarifi are scant. In the absence of personal archives, our research focuses rather on reports from his direct descendants. Little is known about this man who lived rather discreetly, at a distance from worldly life and family affairs.

Member of the Greek Community of Marseilles

With Greek roots, Zafiri belonged to Greek colony that had settled in Marseilles, the incarnation of an aristocrat who was liberal, integrated, and fully active in the city’s economy. His father, Périclès Zarifi (1844-1927), was born in Constantinople. In 1857, he joined his uncle Étienne Zafiropulo (1817-1894), who had arrived in the ‘Phoenician city’ in 1845. Sent by his father Georges Zarifi (1806-1884), director of an important company that traded wheat, notably with Russia, in order to establish a branch in Marseille, Périclès Zarifi linked his name with that of the family Zafiropulo. Together in 1852 they founded the company “Z & Z”, which specialised in the same line of activity, diversifying later by investments in weapons, communication, banking, and industry, as well as in various domains of production. After the death of Étienne Zafiropulo, his descendants decided to withdraw from the company, which folded in 1906. Subsequently, outside of some real estate and commercial operations, Périclès Zarifi focused more on enterprises providing cargo. The Zarifi and Zafiropulo thus incarnated the ‘model of polyvalency’, characteristic of the great industrial dynasties of Marseilles (Américi L., Daumalin X., 2010, p. 68).

Having formed a wide network spanning Europe, Asia, and the Levant, where his contacts were particularly favoured, the Zarifi participated in the dynamic economy of Marseilles. On January 5, 1927, Périclès Zarifi was promoted to the rank of commander of the Légion d’honneur, by decree of the ministry of foreign affairs, for his contributions in benevolence and social hygiene. Particularly lauded were his actions during the war of 1970, when he provided the city with wheat and facilitated the sale of arms and munitions in order to face the German enemy.

Education

In 1871, Périclès Zarifi married Fanny Rodocanachi, from a rich family of Greek Orthodox traders, originally from the city of Chio. They went on to have five children: Théodore, Nicolas, Georges, Olga, and Marika. Nicolas was on the outer edges of the family circle. Danielle Maternati-Baldouy described him as an “endearing personality, withdrawn from worldly concerns, showing more interest in the arts than in business” (bibliothèque du musée Grobet-Labadié, Maternati-Baldouy D., p. 2). He completed his studies at the lycée Thiers and developed a taste for music, particularly piano, of which he was an amateur performer (bibliothèque du musée Grobet-Labadié, Maternati-Baldouy D., p. 2). He was introduced to the world of the arts through his father, himself a great lover of art, active in the artistic life of the city, as a member of the Cercle artistique de Marseille. With him, he visited the exhibitions of the Société des amis des arts (bibliothèque du musée Grobet-Labadié, Maternati-Baldouy D., p. 2).

Following his studies, Nicolas joined the family business (bibliothèque du musée Grobet-Labadié, Maternati-Baldouy D., p. 2). He was learning the wheat trade until 1906, when his father established his own business and founded the company “Périclès Zarifi et fils”.

The conflict in the Balkans broke out in 1912 and due to his nationality he was obliged to take part in combat (Maternati-Baldouy, 1994, p. 11). At the end of the first war, established in May 30, 1913 with the signing of the treaty of London, he “resumed his activities in the family business” (bibliothèque du musée Grobet-Labadié, Maternati-Baldouy D., p. 3). One year after the death of his father, which occurred in 1927, Nicolas Zarifi, who had mastered glassmaking, created Les verreries du Midi (Maternati-Baldouy, 1994, p. 11). The factory, established in the Valentine quarter, produced glass bottles for the pharmaceutical industry. The production was specialised, but Nicolas Zarifi seems to have developed a true fascination for the technique of glassmaking, as his demonstrated by his collection.

He died in 1941, without descendants. His brother Théodore was designated his heir.

The Collection

Zarifi’s taste for collecting was certainly transmitted to him by those around him: his cousin Polybe Zafiropulo (1868-1951), his father and his mother, and the Rodocanachi, who were great collectors themselves. At social gatherings and costume balls, guestscould leisurely admire the objects that adorned the luxurious interiors of the private mansion at 14, allée des Capucines. Thus, during a reception given on Saturday February 14, 1903, La Vedette, which reported on these society events, waxed enthusiastic about this "princely hotel". “The salons, which are splendid, as well as the vestibule and the monumental staircase had been adorned with the rarest and most beautiful green plants. […] Thousands of electric lamps spread their white light over this magical decor, over the thousands and thousands of precious objects, which make it a real museum, over the paintings of the great masters, and over the rich hangings” (La Vedette, 1903, p. 118).

A Taste for Esoteric Buddhism

Although his father introduced him to the world of art, he also would have received guidance from his neighbour, a certain Dr. Fournier, who was familiar with Asian art. The 1906 Marseille Colonial Exhibition certainly encouraged this personal inclination. Nicolas Zarifi was fascinated by Buddhism and more particularly by Lamaic Buddhism. In any case, he was able to enjoy a brief “glimpse into the Lamaic pantheon" (Guillevic J. C., 1967, p. 2).

The concept of series was not of primary consideration to the collector. It was more a matter of bringing together emblematic objects of this religion considered  mystical at the time, gathering bronze deities and other vajras and stupas. Some of these sculptures were representative of Sino-Tibetan art from the 16th to 18th centuries. An iconographic analysis makes it possible to identify the origin of these pieces, the inventory of which sometimes presents a distorted image. It is worth noting the diversity of countries represented in the collection, spanning Burma, China, India, Vietnam, Japan, Mongolia, Tibet, Thailand, and Laos.

Current research on these bronzes nevertheless shows a rather recent dating of these objects, "probably easier to obtain" from antique dealers, as Jeanne Guillevic points out in her memoir (Guillevic J. C., 1967, p. 2 ). In this sense, it is difficult to trace the origin of these objects, for lack of archives. Nicolas Zarifi certainly got his supplies from antique dealers in the city, which was located more particularly in the Opéra district, rue Paradis and rue Saint-Ferréol, in the 6th arrondissement of Marseille. Passing through the capital, he also had to visit some Parisian antique dealers (Guillevic J. C., 1967, p. 2).

The Importance of Glass

Having collected the testimony of one of his close descendants, Danielle Maternati-Baldouy observed a turning point in the collection with the advent of his glassware business in 1928. This observation would trigger the collector to take a passion for glass objects of all origins, shapes, and techniques. The newspaper La Liberté, referred to the donation made to the Cantini museum when it opened in 1936, and effectively presents "glassware of all ages and from all sources" and "a no less rare series, probably paintings on glass", as the result of "his most recent finds" (C.R., 1938, p. 2).

Nicolas Zarifi assembled an important collection of glass paintings consisting of more than 250 pieces that represented Italian, English, Spanish, and French productions from the 16th to the 19th century. Strangely, glass paintings from China turn out to be more anecdotal. Note a Chinese landscape on a black background (MAD Marseille, inv. C 1770), two Indian miniatures – a female portrait (MAD Marseille, inv. C 2152) and a male portrait (MAD Marseille, inv. C 2153) – and two female portraits of Western women (MAD Marseille, inv. C 2367, C 2376), made in a Cantonese workshop, which form pendants.

The collection also presents a set of biyanhu (鼻煙壺) tobacco flasks, known as "Beijing glasses" in the inventory of the donation of January 13, 1936. The document mentions the rarity of one piece in particular, which was one of the first snuff boxes to come out of the Beijing glass factory (AD 13, 4 O 58 78). In this continuum, it is possible to observe French opalines from the 17th and 18th centuries, decorated by the Compagnie des Indes.

Glass is also present in the utensils used to prepare chandoo (烟土), yantu (opium). Chandoo, symptomatic of the opium addiction that was spreading to the West at that time, refers to a social practice, of an elitist nature, as opposed to laudanum, which was more common in Europe in the 20th century. The collection includes eight polychrome earthenware opium stoves, an opium lamp, a glass opium box, and a pipe of the same material.

An Attraction to the Work of Théodore Deck

During a trip to Paris in the 1930s, Nicolas Zarifi discovered the art of the earthenware maker Théodore Deck (1823-1891) [bibliothèque du musée Grobet-Labadié, Maternati-Baldouy D., p. 3]. The work of the ceramist particularly drew inspiration from Japanese and Chinese creations and from Persian art from Iznik (present-day Nicaea, Turkey). Nicolas Zarifi's collection included more than 170 pieces. One particularly interesting piece (MAD Marseille, inv. C 1411) evokes a direct affiliation with a Japanese bronze, dated to the 17th century, representing one of the eight Taoist immortals, Han Zhongli (漢鍾離) [musée Cernuschi, inv. MC 949]; a statuette that we located in the collection of Henri Cernuschi (1821-1896).

His collections attest to a completely eclectic taste. Buddhas, snuffboxes, vajra, stupa and other bronze mirrors take their place alongside glass paintings from the French School of the 18th century and the Italian School of the 16th and 18th centuries; the collection numbers more than 300 set under glass.

The Importance of Transmission

Nicolas Zarifi allowed the people of Marseilles to enjoy his collections during his lifetime, first making a donation to the city in 1936. The act stipulated that it could not be modified without the agreement of the donor or his successors, “so as not to harm the harmony of the collections as a whole" (AD 13, 4 O 58 78). The donor also requested that "the entire room on the second floor, south side" of the musée Cantini be reserved for him. It also guaranteed the financing of the installation of the objects concerned (AD 13, 4 O 58 78). The personal involvement of the collector demonstrates the concept of homogeneity amongst the objects collected and offered, and attests to a wish to control the chain of operations. A second donation followed in 1937, including a piece of gilded glass from the Venetian Quattrocento (Leveau H., 1937). A third, addressed to the musée Cantini, was made the following year, as reported by La Liberté, which praised the patronage of this collector who kept "the sacred fire" burning (C. R., 1938, p. 2). That is to say, a will to transmission animated the spirit of this figure who collected only for himself, but also for others. However, the municipal archives contain no trace of these later donations. Finally, Théodore Zarifi, brother and heir of Nicolas Zarifi, who died childless, made a final donation in 1941. In homage to the collector, the musée Cantini inaugurated a room bearing his name in 1964.

Ultimately, it is clear that Nicolas Zarifi was out of step with his family’s artistic tastes, although he did share a passion for the ceramist Théodore Deck and Asian art with his cousin Polybe Zafiropulo.