"Documenting the Violin Trade in Paris: The Archives of Albert Caressa and Émile Français, 1930-1945,” in Collecting and Provenance: A Multidisciplinary Approach, by Carla Shapreau, Christine Laloue, and Jean-Philippe Échard
“The study of provenance -- the history of the creation and ownership of an artefact, work of art, or specimen -- provides insights into the history of taste and collecting, illuminating the social, economic, and historic trends in which an object was created and collected. It is as much a history of people as it is of objects, and its study often reveals intricate networks of relationships, patterns of activity and motivations…. The issues raised are wide-ranging, touching on aspects of authenticity, cultural meaning and material transformation and economic and commercial drivers, as well as collector and object biography.” Collecting and Provenance: A Multidisciplinary Approach
In order to analyze whether, or not, specific commercial transactions during the Nazi era had a possible nexus to particular war-time losses, one must study the provenance of the musical objects involved. This chapter investigates provenance for the period 1930 to 1945 through the lens of one major French violin workshop, Caressa & Français, succeeded by Émile Français, who directed the workshop from 1938 through 1981. These records were split apart in the twentieth century and donated to two national collections, the Musée de la musique in Paris and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. This study sought to bridge the transatlantic archival gap in this collection, providing analysis and a portal into the world of violin commerce during the period under study. These unique records reflect the network of those involved, including buyers, sellers, dealers, performers, teachers, students, suppliers, and collectors. The records also contribute to an understanding of the political, geographical, cultural and economic landscape and shed light on an array of topics, such as provenance, attribution, condition, and valuation.
This collaborative research was supported by the France-Berkeley Fund.