Imagine having the world's earliest oil fortune to fund your acquisition of art! That's how
Calouste Gulbenkian, an Armenian born in Istanbul, assembled the first-rate collection displayed at the
museum named for him in Lisbon.
Gulbenkian, who purchased 5,000 years of art from Egyptian to European, did so at a time it wasn't as fraught (or expensive) as it can be now. According to 1950 article in Life magazine, "Never in modern history has one man owned so much."
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| Ivory Figures from Casket Panels, Egypt (26th Dynasty) |
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| Alabaster Bas Relief (detail), Assyria ( ca 884-859 BC) |
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| Turkish Tiles (1522-44) |
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| Chinese Carnelian & White Agate Vase (18th to 19th Centuries) |
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| French Fire Screen by Jean-Baptiste Boulard (1785) |
He also lived during a time when there was plenty of art for the taking. For example, his silver was made for
Peter and
Catherine the Great. Now that's what I call provenance! Gulbenkian bought it from the Kremlin when it was in desperate need of funds after the
Russian Revolution, and instantly became owner of the finest private collection in the world.
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| Silver Dish Cover by Antoine-Sebastien Durant (1754-55) |
And, he was in Europe for the birth of modern art. It's amazing how much frozen pieces of ice can resemble waterlilies!
Gulbenkian, an early patron of
Lalique, commissioned more than 140 exquisite objets d'art from the Parisian glassmaker including this Art Deco centaur necklace
. . . and a
Medusa paperweight.
I couldn't resist joining this early 20th-century threesome in the lobby: "The Spring or Homage to Jean Goujon" by Alfred-Auguste Janniot.
The Gulbenkian continues to add to its collection of more than 6,000 items, only a thousand of which are on exhibit at any one time.
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"The Painter Altberg and His Wife" by Mário Eloy (1932)
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Cube Tapestry (close-up) by Maria Velez (1965)
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| "Bishop (red)" by Jorge Pinheiro (1981) |
Much later in the day, when I had an hour to kill before dinner, I returned to the Gulbenkian to tour the gardens where people picnicked while listening to a DJ.
Very chill--it was also the only time I smelled weed during my trip!
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