Finding Aid for the Altounian-Lorbet Study Photographs of Sculpture and Decorative Arts, 1906 - 1954 88.P.1
Jan Bender
Special Collections
2014
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles 90049-1688
Business Number: (310) 440-7390
Fax Number: (310) 440-7780
reference@getty.edu
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections
Title: Altounian-Lorbet study photographs of sculpture and decorative arts
Creator:
Altounian-Lorbet Antiquaires (firm)
Identifier/Call Number: 88.P.1
Physical Description:
7.2 Linear Feet
(25 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1906-1954
Physical Location: Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the
catalog record for this collection.
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access policy .
Abstract: The Altounian-Lorbet study photographs of sculpture and decorative arts document
the works of art sold by or offered to the dealership and reflect the firm's specialization in medieval sculpture and minor
arts, decorative arts of the
sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, and Egyptian and Greek antiquities. The photographs constitute a primary record of works
available on the European
art market before World War II, particularly in the area of monumental sculpture, and include documentation of pre- and post-restoration
states of some
works.
Language of Material: Collection material is in French.
Processing History
Jan Bender created the collection inventory in 2014, and Ann Harrison completed the finding aid.
Biographical/Historical Note
Altounian-Lorbet Antiquaires was a dealership originally established in Paris about 1906 by Joseph Altounian. Altounian was
joined in the business by
his wife, Henriette Lorbet, in 1924, and the shop subsequently relocated to Mâcon. From the early teens through the 1940s,
Altounian-Lorbet was a major
source of Egyptian and Greek antiquities, medieval sculpture, and decorative arts of the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries
for museums and private
collectors. Altounian-Lorbet was notable for the high quality and importance of the works it handled. This held especially
true for medieval sculpture,
for which it was one of the main suppliers to French and American collections. Many pieces now in the United States trace
their source to
Altounian-Lorbet, through its close relations with the New York dealer, Joseph Brummer. In 1954, the business was passed on
to their daughter,
Jacqueline Altounian-Lorbet, and her husband, Bernard Rousset, who shifted the firm's emphasis from ancient and medieval art
to period furniture.
Preferred Citation
Altounian-Lorbet study photographs of sculpture and decorative arts, 1906 - 1954, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles,
Accession no. 88.P.1
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa88p1
Publication Rights
Access
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Arrangement
The collection is primarily arranged by medium, and then by culture.
Acquisition Information
Acquired in 1988.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Altounian-Lorbet study photographs of sculpture and decorative arts document the works of art sold by or offered to the
dealership and reflect the
firm's specialization in medieval sculpture and minor arts, decorative arts of the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, and
Egyptian and Greek
antiquities. The photographs constitute a primary record of works available on the European art market before World War II,
particularly in the area of
monumental sculpture, and include documentation of the pre- and post-restoration states of some works.
Approximately forty percent of the collection consists of images of sculpture (including architectural ensembles), primarily
Romanesque and Gothic,
with some Renaissance works, in stone, wood, and ivory, and with an emphasis on French works. A further thirty percent of
the images are devoted to
works of decorative arts from the medieval period through the eighteenth century, including furniture, tapestries and other
textiles, boiseries, clocks,
enamels and metalwork. Fifteen percent of the photographs are of works of ancient art, primarily Egyptian and Classical sculpture
and Greek vases. The
collection also includes approximately 250 photographs of European paintings (primarily medieval and Renaissance periods)
and 100 photographs of
non-Western art (African, Chinese, southeast Asian, and pre-Columbian objects).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Decorative arts -- Europe
Decoration and ornament, Architectural
Sculpture, Egyptian
Furniture -- Europe
Vases, Greek
Sculpture, Classical
Painting, European
Art -- Conservation and restoration
Sculpture, Renaissance
Sculpture, Romanesque -- France
Decorative arts, Medieval -- Europe
Sculpture, Gothic
Sculpture, Romanesque
Tapestry -- Europe
Textile fabrics -- Europe
Enamel and enameling -- Europe
Gelatin silver prints
Metal-work -- Europe
Black-and-white prints (photographs)
Altounian-Lorbet study photographs of sculpture and decorative arts
Architectural elements and sculpture
box 2, folder 19
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art
box 2, folder 20
Cleveland, Cleveland Museum of Art
box 25*, folder 3-4
Oversized photographs: Italian, unidentified
box 14, folder 1-2
Netherlandish and Flemish
box 25*, folder 5-7
Oversized photographs: Italian, Netherlandish and Flemish, unidentified
Minor and decorative arts
box 15, folder 3-4
Ceramics: faience, porcelain
box 19, folder 2-6
Textiles, tapestries, beadwork
box 25*, folder 8
Oversized photographs: metalwork, musical instruments, pottery and textiles
box 20, folder 1-10
Egyptian: sculpture, minor arts, painting
box 21, folder 1-8
Greek: sculpture, pottery, metalwork
box 22, folder 1-8
Roman: sculpture, metalwork, mosaic, pottery
box 23, folder 6-7
Near Eastern: Sumerian, Assyrian
box 25*, folder 9
Oversized photographs: Roman, Graeco-Roman and Near Eastern
box 24, folder 1-3
Non-Western: African, Asian, Mesoamerican