VITTU de KERAOUL E. R. (EN)
The Collection of Vittu de Keraoul
E. R. Vittu de Keraoul was a frigate captain who inherited a collection from his uncle, a certain Major Heurtel, who had made several trips to China and Japan (Ciavati T., 1965).
The donation made to the City of Toulon in 1965 by Mrs. Vittu de Keraoul represents a set of 32 pieces, 27 of which are inventoried at the Villa Jules Verne (AM Toulon, 286 W 26).
The collection consists of "various souvenirs from Indochina" (Ciavati T., 1965). The objects are of rather recent origin and the majority come from China. There is a set of five water pipes in porcelain, bamboo, and chiseled copper, from China or Vietnam. Some paintings of Tao and Buddhist deities are reminiscent of 19th century Chinese folk art. Some objects echo the fight against the Black Flags, waged during the conquest of Vietnam, such as this sign (MAAT, inv. 965.2.22). Three Japanese paintings, from the Edo period, are examples of the art of the Kanō school, which was founded during the reign of Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436-1490) by a painter from the village of Kanō. This art of the Kanō school remained important until the end of the 19th century.
It is likely that some of these objects come from the collection of Armand Bohin (1857-1924), whose name appears on the back of a wooden stamp from the collection (MAAT, inv. 965.2.10). The description set out by Toussaint Ciavati in Le Méridional (1965) also presents some overlap with the pieces from the Vittu de Keraoul collection, listed in the 1996 inventory (AM Toulon, 286 W 26).
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