Auction in France of Paintings Commissioned by the Last Emperor of Vietnam

The auction, organized by Drouot, France’s oldest auction house, is scheduled for September 22nd.

This collection of 19 paintings, previously owned by infantry lieutenant colonel Henri Aubé, is currently being held by a private collector.

Emperor Ham Nghi, who had a brief reign from 1884 to 1885 before being exiled to Algeria by the French, personally painted these artworks and gifted them to Aubé as a sign of comradeship.

The paintings were discovered after the wars in a discarded box and have been carefully preserved ever since.

This assortment of artworks up for auction comprises the most extensive and comprehensive compilation of Emperor Ham Nghi’s paintings.

The ‘Chemin le long de la rivière’ painting by Emperor Ham Nghi. Photo: N.Vu / Tuoi Tre

One notable piece in this collection is the ‘Sun in the countryside’ (Soleil couchant sur la campagne) painting, measuring 24.5x19cm.

Created by the emperor in 1911, this particular artwork is done in oil paint on cardboard paper and includes his signature, name, and date of creation.

The starting bid for each painting is expected to range from 3,000-5,000 euros (US$3,238-5,398).

Amandine Dabat, the fifth generation descendant of Emperor Ham Nghi, mentioned during a visit to Vietnam that around 100 paintings created by the emperor are still in existence.

One of these paintings, the ‘Lake in the Alps’, is currently housed in the Hue Museum of Royal Antiquities located in Thua Thien-Hue Province, central Vietnam. It was generously donated to the museum by an undisclosed collector.

The Nguyen Dynasty, Vietnam’s last monarchy, ruled in Hue from 1802 to 1945.

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