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Finding Aid for the Altounian-Lorbet Study Photographs of Sculpture and Decorative Arts, 1906 - 1954
88.P.1
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Title: Altounian-Lorbet study photographs of sculpture and decorative arts
Date (inclusive): 1906-1954
Number: 88.P.1
Creator/Collector:
Altounian-Lorbet Antiquaires (firm)
Physical Description:
7.2 linear feet
(25 boxes)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Special Collections
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, California, 90049-1688
(310) 440-7390
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.
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Language: Collection material is in
French.
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.
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Photographs and permissions must be obtained from copyright holder(s). For further information, contact
Library Reproductions and Permissions .
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
Acquired in 1988.
Jan Bender created the collection inventory in 2014, and Ann Harrison completed the finding aid.
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).
The collection is primarily arranged by medium, and then by culture.
Art--Conservation and restoration
Decoration and ornament, Architectural
Decorative arts, Medieval--Europe
Decorative arts--Europe
Enamel and enameling--Europe
Furniture--Europe
Metal-work--Europe
Painting, European
Sculpture, Classical
Sculpture, Egyptian
Sculpture, Gothic
Sculpture, Renaissance
Sculpture, Romanesque
Sculpture, Romanesque--France
Tapestry--Europe
Textile fabrics--Europe
Vases, Greek
Black-and-white prints (photographs)
Gelatin silver prints