Soon in his forties, Sheikh Hamad Bin Abdullah al-Thani is one of the most important art lovers of his time.
Totally invested in his collection, this cousin of the Emir of Qatar is far from the stereotypes of the new fortunes of the Gulf.
Scholar, curious, traveler like those who undertook the “Grand Tour” in the 18th century, he was immersed in culture from an early age, thanks to his mother who introduced him to the Louvre Museum and French castles.
From there, came his taste for the splendor of this century as evidenced by the Riesener chest of drawers acquired $ 1.2 million, in 2019, at Christie's, in the succession of the Canadian billionaire Paul Desmarais.
Thanks to a donation from its Al Thani Collection Foundation, this royal piece of furniture has found its place in Pierre-Elisabeth de Fontanieu's room at the Hôtel de la Marine.
And opened the doors of this magical place to him to exhibit his treasures.
A great expert
All his life, Cheikh Hamad has spent it in the overflowing of wood and scale marquetry, Japanese lacquerware, goldsmithery, porcelain galore which furnished his residences in Doha (its contents were sold at Sotheby's , last June), from London where he studied (Dudley House, 4000 m2 and 17 rooms on the edge of Hyde Park, in an English Louis XVI style) or Paris.
In 2007, his family bought the famous Hôtel Lambert from the Rothschilds, built in 1640 by Louis le Vau, at the tip of Île Saint-Louis, for some 60 million euros.
This mythical place for Parisian festivals was renovated by the late Alberto Pinto and his sister Linda, its appointed decorators, before a devastating fire.
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Few collectors know as much about art as Sheikh Hamad.
Having become a great expert, he knows the market very well and its fair price, which however did not prevent him from being trapped with false 18th century seats from a house in the Monceau plain which were reimbursed to him on the spot. -field.
Trusting only a few people, this hyperactive collector buys alone but never comes to galleries alone.
He decides quickly.
And resells to go upmarket.
If the quality, the rarity, the provenance are all factors that guide my choices, I buy with the emotion of the crush
Sheikh Hamad
“
He is the best eye of his generation, endowed with the colossal means that go with it
.
Cheikh Hamad has a princely taste that goes from the East to the West. He has the sensitivity to absorb all cultures
”, sums up the antiquarian Nicolas Kugel who shares, with his brother Alexis, the honor of his regular visits to their Hotel Collot, a sumptuous gallery of several floors, quai Anatole-France, opposite Concord. By virtue of these two combined qualities, the patron of the Hôtel de la Marine has the first scoop on many objects and access to the nectar of the market. For the merchants who have had the chance to approach him, a character of this stature, "
however advised and surrounded, both passionate and fascinating, an old-fashioned almost romantic amateur"
, stresses the antiquarian Benjamin Steinitz, meets only once in a lifetime.
All court him.
Roll out the red carpet for him.
Without ever saying a word about his latest crushes.
They are kept like a “defense secret” so as never to offend this bottomless angel buyer.
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But on closer inspection, we can trace the thread of their acquisitions.
Like the bust of Emperor Hadrian, workshop of the court of Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, around 1240 for the head, from Venice, second half of the 16th century for the torso. A fabulous object that only certain aesthetic merchants have had the flair to find. It is one of the flagship pieces that Parisians will discover in the new exhibition rooms, testifying to the universal culture of Sheikh Hamad. "
The diverse taste of my collection reflects my interest in works of art made across civilizations, regardless of geography or era, material or technique.
Above all, I appreciate the sophistication and creativity of humanity.
I don't have any favorite items.
Each era has had its own masterpieces, ”he
says.
"If the quality, the rarity, the provenance are all factors that guide my choices, I buy with the emotion of the crush
," he adds.
This was the case with the red jasper head, probably of Queen Hatshepsout (1473-1292 BC) "
which marked a real turning point in my career
", he explains.
Extraordinary gems
“Until about fifteen years ago, we did not know much about his immense collection which has between 5,000 and 6,000 works gathered over the last twenty years,”
said Amin Jaffer, his advisor.
Born to an Indian family in Rwanda, this former pillar of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London that Christie's had poached in 2007 has become the curator of the Al Thaniqui Collection, employs twelve people full time.
By their great common culture, their sense of aesthetics, their quest for the rare object, Amin and Hamad were made to get along.
The adventure - however well thought out!
- began with the exhibitions of several pieces from the Al Thani Collection in institutions.
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In 2017, the Grand Palais in Paris hosted 230 extraordinary jewels retracing nearly five centuries of Indian history, from the great Mughals to the Maharajas.
In 2018, the Château de Fontainebleau presented, in its ballroom, 63 pieces to illustrate "Kings of the world", while Sheikh Hamad became patron of the restorations of the horseshoe staircase where Napoleon bade farewell.
Barely a year later, a large part of the pieces of jewelry unveiled at the Grand Palais in Paris, but also in New York, London, Venice, San Francisco and Beijing were auctioned at Christie's, including the famous Arcot II diamond that belonged to the Queen of England.
The whole had brought in 109 million dollars, the second largest amount for a sale of jewelry, after those of Elizabeth Taylor.
What the public will discover at the Hôtel de la Marine is only an infinitesimal part of this already historic collection that Sheikh Hamad has decided to share.
This should continue to evolve over time, because this enthusiast still has many years to explore other areas that had not attracted him until then.
“
The abstraction and minimalism of modern artists such as Malevich and Brancusi interests me deeply, in part because I see their roots - albeit distant - in certain ancient art forms.
My fascination with artistic forms of expression extends to all eras, up to the present day ”,
confides the latter.
Without limits, this collector is likely to surprise again and again ...