GUILLOTEAUX Érique (EN)

Biographical Article

Little is known about Érique Guilloteaux (1862-1958), except that she was the great-aunt of Hervé Bazin. In his Abécédaire, published in 1984, he invokes his great-aunt in the word "Centenaire": "[...] Érique Guilloteaux was ill practically from age sixteen to 96" (Bazin H., 1984).

She seems to have studied with the sculptor Louis-Ernest Barrias (1841-1905). Single, she travelled a great deal and published several books, best described as travel diaries that recount her escapades in the Maghreb, the Middle East, and Asia with meticulous attention to detail, as well as an aspect of lightness. She illustrated her texts with engravings from her drawings and watercolours, photographs and maps. She was one of those numerous travellers who, following a well-marked route through the Suez Canal, travelled from Marseilles to the Far East (Guilloteaux É, 1913). Among them, some women chose to go alone and write their travel stories. Not exactly a feminist or an adventurer, Érique Guilloteaux discovered the faraway in plenty of comfort, with humour, and was not above a few “escapades” (Labrousse P., 2015).

She retiring to Marcillat-en-Combraille (Allier) and in 1946 donated a set of objects whose role was to "perpetuate the memory of people who are dear [to her]" to the Musée départemental Anne-de-Beaujeu (letter conserved in the museum documentation). The list of objects includes very little information about the place and manner of acquisition. Hypotheses have sometimes been established thanks to her travelogues. A Javanese dancer's belt, for example, could be connected to her discovery of gold jewellery from the island of Java. Nevertheless, the explorer seems to have been more interested in acquiring memories of travel than in building a coherent collection. When a decorative arts room was created, the most interesting pieces from this collection were exhibited.

The Collection

Érique Guilloteaux's donation includes not only Asian pieces but also works of art from Europe, the Mediterranean basin, and the Near East.

The "Asian" collection includes two large sets:

– French objects whose decor is inspired by Asian art, notably sold by the mason Barbedienne in Paris or made by Louis-Ernest Barrias, of whom the collector was a pupil (e.g. Bougeoir, inv. 46.3.13; Paire de chandeliers, inv. 46.3.14 ; Écritoire décorée d’un chien de Fô, inv. 46.3.15; Brûle-parfum au décor de dragon, inv. 46.3.17; Vase, Louis-Ernest Barrias, cloisonné, inv. 46.3.3)

– Objects purchased during her wanderings in the Orient, sometimes objects made solely for export (e.g. Vase et plateau en cuivre rouge, Inde, inv. 46.3.18 & 19; Armoires, Vietnam, inv. 46.3.2 & 3; Table, Vietnam, inv. 46.3.4; Paravent, inv. 46.3.5 & 6; Estampes, Japon, inv. 46.3.22-35; Porcelaine, Japon, inv. 46.3.40, 59; Bijoux, inv. 46.3.41, 48, 62, 63; Éventails, inv. 46.3.49; Porcelaine, inv. 46.3.57, 58 & 60 ; Vase en bronze, inv. 46.3.8).

Apart from a few interesting pieces, such as Vietnamese cupboards in rosewood inlaid with mother-of-pearl, a Chinese vase decorated with lost-wax bronze dragons with a regrettably illegible stamp, Japanese prints attributed to Kitagawa Utamaro (circa 1753–1806), this collection is exemplary due to the extraordinary journeys of its donor.