Moïse de Camondo
| Moïse de Camondo | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
15 March 1860 Constantinople, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | 14 November 1935 (aged 75) Paris, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Spouse(s) | Irène Cahen d'Anvers (m. 1891) |
| Children |
Nissim (1892–1917) Béatrice (1894–1944) |
Count Moïse de Camondo (15 March 1860 – 14 November 1935) was an Ottoman Empire-born French banker and art collector. He was a member of the prominent Camondo family.
As a child, Camondo moved with his family from their home in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire, to Paris around 1869, where he grew up and continued the career of his father, Nissim de Camondo (1830-1889), as a banker. He was born into a Sephardic Jewish family that owned one of the largest banks in the Ottoman Empire, established in France since 1869.
Starting in 1911, he completely rebuilt the family's Parisian mansion on the Parc Monceau in order to house his collection of 18th-century French furniture and artwork. Working closely with the architect René Sergent, he created a palatial home conforming to certain 18th-century traditions, even planning the room dimensions to match exactly the objects in his collection. The entryway is inspired by the Petit Trianon of Versailles. The home includes a kosher kitchen with separate sections for meat and dairy. The dining room includes a beautifully-carved green marble fountain in the shape of a shell, with a dolphin spigot for the ritual washing of hands before eating a meal.
Some highlights of his collection include a French silver service that had been ordered by Russian Empress Catherine the Great, a set of Buffon porcelain (with exact reproductions of ornithological drawings) from the Sèvres manufacturer, and perhaps the only existing complete set of Gobelin royal tapestry sketches.
He married Irène Cahen d'Anvers, daughter of Louis Cahen d'Anvers, in 1891. They raised their two children in this home, which he later donated to Paris's Decorative Arts society as a museum (Musée Nissim de Camondo) in honor of the loss of his son Nissim in World War I. In addition to the collection, the meticulously-restored service areas, elevator and woodwork of the mansion are noteworthy.
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