BOHIN Armand (EN)

Biographical Article

Little is known about Lieutenant-Colonel Adolphe Armand Bohin (1857-1924). His file for the Legion of Honor (AN, LH/267/53) facilitates the reconstruction of his military career and the definition of the circumstances that allowed him to acquire his collection of art work.

On February 1, 1876, Private Bohin joined the 3rd Marine Infantry Regiment and then gradually rose through the ranks, becoming Sergeant-Major on March 17, 1879. The following year, he entered the provisional school for non-commissioned naval infantry officers in Cherbourg and graduated as a Second Lieutenant on April 16, 1881.

Test in Tonkin

The republicans who came to power the same year reinforced the "interventionist" camp, which supported the process of expansion in Tonkin (Le Faillier P., 2014). On April 25, 1882, Commander Henri Rivère (1827-1883) seized the citadel of Hanoi. The Viceroy of Yunnan Cen Yüying (岑毓英) [1829-1889] replied by sending in his troops. Bohin participated in this movement of conquest, from December 22, alongside the Tonkin battalion. Later, on June 8, 1883, he obtained the rank of Lieutenant.

France, in a hurry to proceed to the "exploitation phase" of territorial wealth (Le Faillier P., 2014), sent an expeditionary force against the Chinese and Vietnamese armies that was allied to the Pavillons-Noirs, led by Lưu Vĩnh Phúc (Liu Yongfu [劉永福], in Chinese; 1837-1917). On June 6, 1884, the Patenôtre Treaty was signed between France and Annam. From then on, the protectorate regime applied to the whole of Vietnam, which now included Cochinchina, Annam, and Tonkin. However, the conflict dragged on and expanded in a situation of "undeclared war” (Le Faillier P., 2014).

As reported in Le Spectateur militaire (1887), the French army twice resorted to Chinese mercenaries for lack of manpower; both experiments ended in failure. The first, from the ranks of the Pavillons-Jaunes, "hereditary enemies of the Pavillons-Noirs" (B. R., 1887, p. 134), were dismissed and disarmed for lack of discipline. The second, "Chinese enlisted in the cities of the Delta by the Annamite mandarins" (B. R., 1887, p. 134), carried out an act of mutiny, after having deserted their own camp during the siege of Tuyên-Quang. Sent to Hanoi before General Charles Théodore Millot (1829-1889), commander-in-chief of the Tonkin expeditionary force, the 79 defectors joined Bohin's unit at Cau-Dô (?), a military post located 9 km from Hanoi. These new recruits, assigned to the defence of the province, were ordered to drive out the rebel bands from the territory. As the risks of insubordination were known, Bohin was dubbed by his comrades in arms with the nickname "sentenced to death". While their behaviour was satisfying for a time, their desertion was nevertheless surprising in December 1884. Bohin narrowly escaped the about-face of his men, who assassinated the native sergeant who was about to sound the alarm. Le Spectateur militaire recounts this anecdote, exalting the heroic figure of this "gentle and energetic officer" (B. R., 1887, p. 135), "only [before] his salvation because of the fear he had known how to inspire in them and also to his feelings of justice to which the Asians [sic] are not insensitive” (B. R., 1887, p. 139).

Topographer for the Sino-Annamite Border Delimitation Commission

Negotiations between China and the French government finally led on June 9, 1885 to the Treaty of Tianjin (天津), by which China recognised the existence of the French protectorate.

On December 18, Bohin joined the newly created 1st Tonkinese Rifle Regiment. He was subsequently attached to the Border Delimitation Commission as a topographer. During this mission, he surveyed the mountainous regions of northern Vietnam; areas infested with "pirates", resisting the authority of the court of Huê.

General Munier, commander of the Tonkin and Annam occupation division, sent him to reconnoitre at Cape Pak Lung (Bạch Long, in Vietnamese; present-day Chinese city of Beihai [北海], in Guangxi Province [廣西]) with an escort of 40 men. The mission was carried out in a tense climate. Informed of several Chinese-led attacks on Móng Cái, Bohin decided to take part in the city’s defence. However, on November 26, 1886, while en route, he was attacked from the rear by a horde of 400 Chinese soldiers dominating the heights of Qinzhou Bay (欽州). Despite inferior numbers, he managed to force his way through. Wounded in the fight, he was named chevalier de la Légion d’honneur, by decree of the Minister of the Navy and the Colonies, on July 5, 1887. On October 25, he was promoted to Captain.

The border with Guangxi was important. Concluded on April 17, 1886, it marked “the first step in the process of delimitation”, according to Thi Hanh Nguyen (2018). From this expedition, Bohin drew up a map of the region of Hain-ninh (Móng Cái). This sketch appears in cardboard from a map of the "Border of Tonkin and China". The whole would illustrate a brief from the Commission, addressed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (AMAE, 8 MD 64). A copy is also kept in the Department of Maps and Plans (département des Cartes et plans) of the BnF (GE SH 19 PF 1 QUATER DIV 21 P 52 D). The Boundary Commission ended on June 26, 1887, with the signing of the Peking Convention (北京).

Back in France, his marriage to Marie-Berthe Hochapfel (1862-1946) was announced on March 3, 1888 in Le Figaro [1888, p. 3]. His wife would join him with their child, then six years old, in Cochinchina, where he was posted in 1889 (Bulletin officielle de l'Indochine, 1891, p. 341). He joined the 3rd marching regiment on November 5, 1889 and that of the Annamite riflemen on April 10, 1890. The situation in Vietnam was relatively stable, despite sporadic revolts affecting the Red River Delta. Bohin became more familiar with the population and graduated on January 21, 1891 for his knowledge of the Annamese language, which he had already put into practice during his mission of border demarcation.

The Conquest of Sudan

On October 20, 1893, his orders took him to the colony of French Sudan, constituted by decree on August 18, 1890. France then began a second phase of conquest, conducted under the direction of the superior commander Louis Archinard (1850-1932). By decree of August 27, 1892, the colony was given political and administrative autonomy. The powers of the superior commander were expanded and Archinard applied them in order to pacify the territory. The troops were increased in number and mobilised to subdue the bands of the warlord (almami) Samori Touré (1830?-1900), occupying Upper Niger and Upper Milo (in present-day Guinea). This campaign, conducted from November 1892 to March 1893, was entrusted to Lieutenant Antoine Vincent Auguste Combes (1849-1913), who managed to drive them back to the West. The almami, who had retreated to the Bandama valley (in present-day Côte d'Ivoire), resumed hostilities at the end of November 1893 and perpetrated a series of raids and fires in the region of present-day Sikasso in Mali. He besieged the towns of Bougouni and Ténintou, which provoked the reprisals of Colonel Eugène Bonnier (1856-1894), who marched on the latter in December. Samori was captured. The constitution of a civilian government was decreed on November 21, with Albert Grodet (1853-1933) appointed as its head. Meanwhile, Bohin joined the general staff on September 9. On February 1, 1894, he joined the regiment of Sudanese skirmishers, created on April 23, 1892. After a period of relative calm, Sudan entered a period of instability, marked by the conquest of Timbuktu, taken on December 15, 1893, and the fight against the Tuaregs occupying the territory. The Sudanese period ended for Bohin on May 25, 1895. At this time, the Grodet regime changed direction outside, favouring the strategy of defence to that of offense, as advocated by Archinard (Gatelet, 1901, p. 323). Shortly after his departure, on June 16, 1895, the General Government of West Africa was declared.

At the end of these African campaigns, Bohin received the colonial medal, bearing the clasp of Senegal and Sudan. He was also knighted in the Order of the Black Star of Benin, by decree of June 19, 1909, for his participation in the war in Sudan. On June 2, Bohin returned to France, assigned to the 4th regiment of Toulon (Le Phare des Charentes, 1895, p. 3).

The Cretan Revolt (1897)

On April 8, 1897, Bohin, now Captain Adjutant-Major, was mobilised in Crete, then in the grip of a revolt. The "four protecting powers" (Goulhot S., 2020, p. 224) - England, France, Russia and Italy - attempted to stave off conflict between Greece and the Ottoman Empire, while the Christian and Muslim communities clashed on the island. With the Treaty of Berlin of 1878, Crete wound up remaining in the the Ottoman Empire. In 1895, with the support of Greece, Crete requested territorial autonomy, which was again refused by the Europeans. In February 1897, attacks between Muslims and Christians multiplied. At the end of the month, Greece sends a contingent to the island to evacuate the Christians. The situation was underestimated by the Europeans, who interpreted it as purely religious antagonism, rather than as a real revolt (Şenişik P., 2010, p. 30). Eventually the Greco-Turkish war was declared and, on February 15, the Greeks occupied the island. European powers in turn sent armed troops to Chania, demanding the withdrawal of Greek forces. The revolt spread. However, defeat in Thessaly finally led Greece to comply, between May 9 and May 26. In August, the General Assembly declared its acceptance of the autonomy of Crete, which was placed under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. With European powers having found common ground, Bohin was able to leave Crete on October 15, 1897. He was ordered to return to Indochina.

The Return to Tonkin

On June 3, 1899, Bohin was reassigned to Tonkin, and joined the ranks of the 2nd Tonkinese Tirailleurs Regiment as battalion commander. On December 20, he was appointed to command the Circle of Văn-Linh on the proposal of the director of Customs and Administration (Bulletin officielle de l'Indo-Chine, 1899, p. 1892). In August 1891, Jean-Louis de Lanessan (1843-1919), Governor General of Indochina (1891-1894), effectively implemented a military division of Tonkin into four distinct territories, themselves divided into ten circles. He thus contributed to more rational border management (Le Faillier P., 2014). The commander, under the authority of the superior commanding general, enjoyed a "leonine power", to use the expression of Philippe Le Failler, who specified that the extent of these powers and the lack of manpower prevented him from fully fulfilling his role (2014). With the conquest of Tonkin completed at the end of 1895, the exploitation phase could begin (Fourniau C. and Van Thao Trinh, 1999, p. 177). Under the governorship of Paul Beau (1857-1926), Bohin was part of the 6th colonial infantry regiment from May 31, 1902 to December 29, 1903.

On December 29, 1903, Bohin obtained the rank of officier de la Légion d’honneur for service rendered (AN, LH/267/53), and was promoted to the rank of commander, by decree of July 10, 1920, on the report of the Ministry of War. To this distinction awarded by the nation was added the medal of Tonkin. Armand Bohin was also crowned Knight of the Royal Order of Cambodia, by decree of April 12, 1888, and Knight of the Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam. Many honorary awards recognised this military career as exemplary.

The Collection

The objects donated to the city of Toulon by Adolphe Armand Bohin exclusively reflect the Asian part of the collection. These objects are not clearly identified in the inventory of objects kept at the Villa Jules Verne, mixed in with the old collection of the musée municipal des Arts asiatiques in Toulon. The collection was listed in 1996 by Guillemette Coulomb, curator of the museum, Laure Feugère, project manager, and Amina Okada, curator at the musée national d’Art asiatique-Guimet. Marie-Catherine Rey, also a curator also at Guimet, was responsible for coordinating this work (AM Toulon, 286 W 26). There remains the list set out in 1965 by Toussaint Ciavati for the readers of Le Méridional, which allows for some cross-checking. Similarly, a coin from the Vittu de Keraoul collection mentions of Bohin's name on its reverse side (MAAT, 965.2.10) and indicates probable exchanges between the two collectors. This data gives a partial view of Armand Bohin's collection. However, the context of its evolution and its full extent remain unknown.

Collection, Gifts and Souvenirs

The collection was built in a particular geopolitical context, the definition of the Sino-Annamite border, coinciding with an attitude of compromise and conciliation between the Chinese Empire and the French government. Armand Bohin developed close ties with Indochina through his missions, spending more than ten years in the service of the Navy in this territory.

He was said to have been "a close friend of the Fôô of Cholen (viceroy)" (Ciavati T., 1965). It was thanks in particular to his connections that he had "the opportunity [...] to find and buy fairly rare Indochinese curiosities and works of art" (Ciavati T., 1965). The knowledge of this region, its geography as well as its people - it must be recalled that he mastered the Annamese language -, undoubtedly facilitated the acquisition of these objects of art and ethnography.

Did the collection come from intentional searches? We cannot be sure, due to lack of records. In any case, the collection demonstrates a disinterested logic, if we take into account the many gifts sent to him by diplomatic or friendly relations in the places he stayed.

Le Méridional evokes in this respect a “collection of souvenirs", which gives these objects an emotional dimension. These do indeed have a particular meaning, given the circumstances of their acquisition. From his missions, Bohin collected in particular relics of the confrontation against the Black Flags, but also testimonies of gratitude from the authorities at the end of the border delimitation process. A Chinese measuring instrument (a compass), inlaid with mother-of-pearl, "after having served the (Chinese) Delimitation Commission, was offered by the latter to Commander A. Bohin, in thanks for his good offices, at the signing of peace” (Ciavati T., 1965). A measuring stick is also included in the inventory.

These objects had clear uses. Each has a story of its own and testifies to an experience lived as close as possible to the field. In this respect, the emblem of the Pavillon-Noir soldiers carved in wood resonates like a trophy of war. Religious objects also bear witness to living religious traditions in Southeast Asia, such as the wooden statue of a goddess from Sumatra and the Chinese representation of Buddha, dating from the 18th century. These objects are thus presented as artefacts and have today taken on an anthropological dimension.

Examples of Asian Art

Other objects pertain to the arts or crafts of countries bordering Vietnam. The collection includes a series of "precious paper scrolls representing characters from the Japanese archipelago" (Ciavati T., 1965). From Japan, Armand Bohin owned a samurai sword encrusted with mother-of-pearl as well as a wedding fan. From China, he had three water pipes in ceramic and wood dating from the 18th century, representative of the opium culture, produced around the time Bohin was in Yunnan (云南) and watering the Red River delta. The oldest object, from Vietnam, is a lacquer tray inlaid with mother-of-pearl, dating from the 16th century.

These objects, a personal collection, are a testament to an intimate link with the Indochinese territory and the fruit of the experience of living in the field. They also attest to more punctual artistic invocations, testimonies of a culture and a civilisation on the edge of two territories, whose boundaries were still unclear.