FINI, LES VACANCES
Yes, I had a great time;
Yes, I wish it had not gone by so quickly;
and
Yes, I did bring back some images and some tales.
TANGIER
Les vacances started with our- you must have guessed by now-- inevitable trip to Tangier Morocco. We literally landed, went to the house, dropped off our suitcases and headed directly to the French consulate for the auction of the contents of a fabulous old house on la Vieille Montagne. (The auction was held with photos shown on a large screen). It belonged to le Général André Beaufre, then to his widow, la Générale (as we say in France when we speak of the wife of a general. Neat hein?) and now to famous Paris photographer Roland Beaufre and his sister Florence.
The house is the absolute undiluted example of une maison coloniale, as in "the French Colonies"; I know, it is not very Politically Correct to speak with admiration of anything of les colonies, French or otherwise, but this house has the aura, mystery and gently dilapidated richness of some of the ones I remember from Tunisia and from photos of my grandparents and mother when they lived in Indochina- now Vietnam. I will never cease to admire them. How could you not?
Although we did not see the house until the day after the sale- Joelle bought a pair of wonderful armchairs upholstered in the richest slightly faded lavender and black striped carpet- sadly I do not have a photo of these delightful pieces- I found these images on the auctioneer's site), what we did see the next day was this riot of colors, saturated yet somehow very livable and an amazing collection of the most eclectic objects and furniture. The work of a lifetime- or two, or three. All sold.
I must include a small comment on the auction.
Joelle - some of you must know by now that she is my twin sister- has just written a novel, which takes place in Tangier. Just before we left for Morocco, she was stunned to discover that the sale of an old house situated on la Vieille Montagne in Tangier was going to take place on the day of our arrival. Why stunned? this is why:
It's name was Villa Victoria.
The title of Joelle's book.
Do you honestly think wild horses could have kept us away?
Au revoir.
Posts
As an antique textile dealer I'm loving picture four with the tapestries. What a wonderful trip!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great story and experience -- I would have loved to pour over the eclectic objects of this old estate. How sad that there is no family to claim these treasures collection for several generations. Tell and show more like this, s'il te plaît.
ReplyDeleteWhen is the book going to be published or has it already? (Congrats to Joelle!)
Dear J-A
ReplyDeleteBrilliant, gorgeous, evocative post...makes me wish so much I had been there with the two of you :)...superb images
I have a link back to your Madelaine post on my blog today...
have a wonderful mid-week!
bisous
Kit
Acquired Objects: the fabrics were great indeed You would have gone nuts! merci
ReplyDeleteGenie:there was a member of the family but they could not absorb all of their parents' collections and some of the objects were really great in Morocco but not all exportable, even though you might think so in this global age. It must have been a sad day for them I think.
Kit: always such a generous and sensitive friend. Merci pour le lien-link. Yes I do adore MC's style.
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