HAMOT de SAINT-LÉGER Jean Charles Alexandre (EN)

Jean Charles Alexandre Hamot de Saint Léger was born in Nantes in 1815 to Julien Hamot de Saint Léger and Magdeleine Guezenec . An avid art lover with a financial situation as an annuitant allowed him to satisfy his desire and become a collector. There is not evidence of him frequenting the intellectual circles of the 19th century seeming to be a rather discreet collector.

He collected paintings and a few portraits, but above procured landscapes with a particular penchant for seaside views, canals or lakes. He bought works from the painters of his time such as Félix Thomas (1815-1875) and Alexandre Chantron (1842-1918) from Nantes, but also Fabius Brest (1823-1900) from Marseille and Johan Barthold Jongkind (1819-1900) from the Netherlands. 1891) (MAN, inventory, s.c.).

He also built a collection of Chinese and Japanese porcelain. It is not known, however, whether he acquired them at public sales or from antique dealers, or even whether he inherited them from his parents. The collection consists mainly of plates, soup plates and dishes from China, dating from the second half of the 18th or the beginning of the 19th century and decorated with small scenes or floral compositions (hibiscus, peonies, finger lemons...) (MDTD, inventory, s.c.). Devoid of chivalrous, mythological or biblical scenes, or even coats of arms, these porcelain were not from the Compagnie des Indes. However, they obviously were intended for the Western market due to the marli of certain plates. A few Imari pieces from Japan or Chinese copies of the latter completed his personal collection.

“In the will dated September 15, 1870, Jean Charles Alexandre Hamot de Saint-Léger bequeathes some Chinese and Japanese porcelain that furnished his bedroom to the Musée Départemental d’Archéologie, in the hope […] that his gesture will lead to larger donations” (AD 44, 171 T art. 2). Unmarried, he did not have a direct heir, but designated Marie Castonnet Desfosses, wife of Jules Edmond Riom, as his trustee of his estate. Hamot de Saint Léger died in Nantes on April 19, 1883. The inventory following his death mentioned a collection of paintings and a set of 125 Asian porcelains.

His collection of paintings, 18 works in total, were intended for the Musée des Beaux Arts de Nantes and were listed in its inventory in 1884 (AM de Nantes, R2 box 11, file 1).