20th century imperial artifacts set for French auction

The French auction house Lynda Touvé has announced that its Indochine Chapitre 15 session at the Drouot Center on March 17 will include 339 artifacts – including paintings, photos and other antiques from Indochina.

One particular collection of photographs taken during a trip King Bao Dai (reign 1926-1945) took to Tonkin (North Vietnam) is expected to be sold for 8,000-10,000 euros ($8,490-10,600), according to the auction house’s website.

The cover of the album contains unpublished photos of King Bao Dai. Photo by Lynda Touvé

Bao Dai, the son of King Khai Dinh (reign 1916-1925), was the last king of the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945), the last ruling family of Vietnam

The collection in lot 101 is bound in an old album consisting of 428 silver prints that document the king at a military review, horse races, school visits, craftsmen’s workshops, a Tonkinese distillery company, athletic competitions, Hanoi shops and a regional fair.

Most of the photos in the album have never been published. The cover is decorated with an imperial decree in Sino-Vietnamese characters.

“The exceptional quality of these photographs and their diversity make this set a unique testimony of the event, of which several pictures are completely unpublished,” said a Lynda Touvé announcement.

The photos of King Khai Dinh (L) and King Bao Dai in the auction lot 97. Photo by Lynda Touvé

Lot 97 contains two postcards documenting the arrival King Khai Dinh in Saigon and Marseilles in May 1922, with an albumen print of a French merchant marine vessel attached. There is also a set of 8 silver prints documenting a visit Bao Dai made to a Da Lat high school. This lot will be offered for 80-120 euros.

The auction will also include an imperial decree scroll written by King Khai Dinh around 1920, valued at a total of 500-600 euros. The scroll is accompanied by the texts of ordinances calligraphed in black ink in Sino-Vietnamese on Annam golden yellow Do paper. It also has the red imperial seal of the Annam court.

The imperial decree scroll of King Khai Dinh. Photo by Lynda Touvé

The session will also include photo albums, postcards, statues and paintings by famous painters such as Le Pho, Mai Trung Thu, Nguyen Nam Son and Vu Cao Dam. Of these, the painting “Young Woman with the Bouquet” (1930) by Le Pho is expected to reach a price of 500,000 euros.

Lynda Touvé, based in Paris, is one of the most famous auction houses in France. The house focuses on Indochinese art, including paintings, photos, antiques and other collector’s items.