ESTATE OF AN AMATEUR ASTRONOMER AND BUILDER
[Fabarel, Abbé (1707-1793, member of the Académie de Dijon] Partage des meubles et effets dépendants de la succession de feu M. l'Abbé Fabarel, lesquels ont été divisée en quatre lots qui ont été tirée au sort, dont deux appartiennent à M. de Flamerand, un à Mad.e de Cléry et un à M.me Gerard. [Dijon] [c.1793].
Record of division of goods between three heirs (two women and a man), of Dijon art collector, amateur astronomer and building director the Abbé Fabarel (1707-1793). The abbé organised the construction of an astronomical observatory in Dijon, engaging William Herschel for the purchase of its telescope, and supervised the building of the Dijon-area folly the Château de Montmusard. The goods recorded in our manuscript include an architectural model for the château in black and gold, chemical equipment, an electrical machine, mirrors, microscopes, prisms, a magic lantern, and more objects reflecting this scientific and architectural interest.
130 items are in a section titled "paintings, bronzes and prints". An inventory item titled "two views of Montmusard painted in oil by Lallemant" likely includes the item sold at Christie's London, 9 July 2021, lot 162, a painting of Montmusard by Jean-Baptiste Lallemand (1716-1803). Lallemand is probably the best-represented named artist in the list. Others who appear include Charles de Wailly (1730-1798) and Sébastien Bourdon (1616-1671).
With also its lists of furniture, wines and spirits, it is a rich document, evocative of an interesting life. The only pity is that, except for some bound print collections, there are no books. It seems the heirs hadn't finished dividing them up. Under a heading at end, "Books", there is a note that they "didn't believe it necessary to put here the division of the books, considering that they propose to exchange [amongst themselves?] several, which has determined that they can't follow straight on from this division".
Description
Manuscript, 39.5 cms. x 26.4 cms., pp. 41 [3]. With blank at end. Text, signatures at end. Light or medium browning, very good condition, bound in modern half-vellum and marbled boards.