A Large Dalpayrat Jardinière Acquired by Orsay

The Musée d'Orsay in Paris has acquired a large jardinière (planter) by French ceramicist Adrien Dalpayrat, along with a jewelry coffer by Henri-Auguste Fourdinois. The purchases were made from a sale at Hôtel Drouot by the Thierry de Maigret auction house, where the museum notably did not exercise preemption rights on other works by Jean-Marie Pointu, Eugène Lion, and Paul Jeanneney. The museum justified its inaction by citing the cost of these two acquisitions.

This acquisition matters because it highlights the financial constraints facing even major national museums like the Musée d'Orsay, forcing them to make difficult choices about which works to pursue. The decision not to preempt other significant ceramic pieces—particularly those by Paul Jeanneney, who is absent from the museum's collection—raises questions about collecting priorities and the preservation of France's decorative arts heritage. The article also underscores the ongoing tension between public institutions' acquisition budgets and the market prices for important 19th-century decorative arts.