In the midst of the controversy surrounding the sacking of Paris, which is played out with thousands of Tweets showing damage in the capital, an auction of Parisian furniture is raising the excitement a notch.
Organized on May 18 in Drouot and called
Paris, Mon amour
, it offers several elements of small heritage - including a Davioud bench from the nineteenth or cast iron grids protecting the trees -, but also
"four double arched openwork doors from the Hôtel de Lauzun, in Paris ”
.
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Built between 1650 and 1658, bought by the mayor of Paris in 1928 after having housed the count of Lauzun, the niece of Cardinal Mazarin or the writer Baudelaire, the Hotel is a Grand Siècle manifesto.
From there to thinking that the city is dismantling its family jewels, it is only a step that many have taken.
In recent days, a concert of protests has accompanied the photos of the wrought iron doors with gilding, sometimes putting them against the banal wooden doors that have replaced them.
"These pieces, which date from the twentieth century (and not from the seventeenth, editor's note) come from individuals"
, indicates the auctioneer, Maître Lucien and, he defends himself, "
they are not classified
".
In fact, these famous doors were created in 1910, when the owner wanted to restore some sparkle to the Hôtel de Lauzun. They are indeed not classified, which does not detract from their interest, since they belong to the history of this building.
“They were deposited in the early 2000s, during the restoration of the facades of the courtyard, on the recommendation of the chief architect of historic monuments then in office, in order to restore the appearance of the doors of the old stables. These doors are now made of wood as they were in the 17th century. The grids were an anachronism from a heritage point of view
, ”one explains to the City of Paris.
There remains the question of how they got into the hands of collectors.
Legally, the city of Paris can sell its street furniture - which it did recently, in 2018, on the Agosrastore platform specializing in the sale of community goods.
At the time, the gates of the Hotel de Lauzun had left for 4,672 euros - they are now offered at 12,000 euros.
Regularly, Davioud benches or fountains are put on sale: the
Paris, mon amour, operation
is also in its eleventh edition.
"There is no logic of conservation"
But amateurs know that they can also count on neglect.
For lack of interest in its small heritage, fountains or benches, the city has sometimes quite simply thrown away elements in poor condition.
“My mother started a collection in the 1950s, when there was no conservation logic.
She saved many objects from destruction including a fountain which will be put on sale on May 18, or a public bench, which she had found in a dumpster,
”testifies Florence Quignard-Debuisson, daughter of Roxane Debuisson, protector of the old Paris, which had started an important collection of street furniture in the 1950s
.
Read also: Discovering the treasures of Paris: guided tour of the Hôtel de Lauzun
While the Parisians see the appearance of beam benches, yellow plastic plots or bins at the foot of the trees, the sale of May 18 falls badly for the municipal team. And will make the happiness of its instigator.
“No city in the world has designed street furniture as beautiful as that of Paris. The city owes it to the genius of 19th century designers such as Gabriel Davioud under Napoleon III. Since the twentieth century, there has been a replacement by hastily designed furniture. Today, when you stroll through the streets of Paris, the furniture is heartbreaking, ”
concludes Maître Lucien.