DYNASTY: The story of the ill-fated Camondo family and their collections with Sylvia Sagona

The immense wealth of the Camondo Bank, founded in Istanbul, transferred to Italy and then to Paris at the time of Napoleon III, allowed the brothers, Count Moise and Count Isaac de Camondo to devote their lives to collecting 18th century decorative arts. 

At their death, both collections were donated to the City of Paris and form the basis of the collection of the Museum of Decorative Arts.  At the centre of the frantic pace of the artistic circles in Paris, they persuaded other Jewish families of the Second Empire, such as the Fould, Cernuschi and Péreire to follow their philanthropic mission. 

The Hotel de Camondo collection is particularly rich in silverware and china and stands as a poignant reminder of the dream of international culture.

Sylvia Sagona is Fellow of the School of Languages at the University of Melbourne (Department of French, Italian and French Studies) and specialises in 19th century French art and society.