New-York tribune., 1902-09-06
rHE DUTUIT ART MUSEUM
TO TIN, CITY OF PARIS VALUED AT
100000.
Paris. August %.

- ox,etence and the estimated value OF "L0n
= 60 oo00pO. NJ. August Dutuit. who oleu Ie
a.,tlv at his native town Of Rouen, was ihe 'A7'
.,,-z,,vor of an extremely wealthy family OF '"'
,-o,bers and a sister. who for over Sixty yeas
- made II the great business OF their lives -
,,o.+ art treasures of every description. ana III
- pocen+ric 7yill probated three weeks ago a'
T,ouen all The objects Of art. Including raie
-.r+s books pictures, pottery coins ''0
-Aao1n we're bequeathed TO the city OF FaiiS
=, condition that the city accepts the lebae!
7yit7ip two months, and that the coAec"oh ~
.a+.,og7,s5 and placed on public exhibition IN d
,,7ofrsl museum before the expiration OF Iouf
.ror4hs There is also clause of the VIII re-
-,u,,- the city of Paris to keep the graves OF
-. T,,+.,i+ family in the Pere la Chaise Gene
- &, aoo5 order for ever. Should the CITY "L
7,rt, fail to accept these conditions the col1eo-
,;o- ,,-o7,l6 revert TO the city of Rome Inc
,f,,-,cfnaI Council called together yesterday III
m ex-r7ordirary session. formally accepted 1'e
legacy. and in a few weeks the entire colIe'''o'
IN 10 -7are5 IN the Petit Palais Of the Champs
E1vszes and viii form one Of the most ll'eIe''-
ing stEhts foY visitors 20 Paris.
In ADDITION TO the art collection the feS'a'''
has beaueathed 10 the city OF PARIS t"o '''
-,ort,,,sn+ houses situated in the hue Caue' i'H
no shares Of the Bank Of France tne "lii-l~li ~
come OF which. amounting to over S'o'ooo' = -
go toward defraying the cost OF AeSiA''7 ~
Increasing the collection. 49,,
The will of Auguste Dutuit is quaint u0e0-
-,ar+ drawn LID in Scriptural style, 1t begins
-1,h ,he words: In the name Of the Father o.
.be Som and of the Holy Ghost Amen! 30 DC
II, I the undersigned. Auguste putu-'' CIV
Further on is q paragraph in which the leS'a-
.or leaves TO the ci'y OF MaTSeilleS all his fe'''
estate situated in that city. with accumulated
.rcor7e which has been untouched for twenty
years. After reproaching his heirs-at-law win
reifshness and ingTatitude, there is the leiio"-
g. .t-,i6cant phrase: Those who may COM
plain that they are unjustly treated by TINS VIII
% not deserve TO be listened to" Here and
there are passages clearly indicating that the
testator felt that for some unexplained, mys-
.Arjo,,s reason he was in conscience bound to re-
+7 the F1lll1 of his immense fortune TO the city
Of Paris.
The full inventory of the Dutuit collection has
not vet been completed by NJ Georges Cain,
custodian Of the Carnavalet Museum, who has
been fntrusted with the task by the municipality
OF Paris NJ. Cain has gathered together the
various portions Of the collection which were
fourd at the residences Of the Dutult family al
Paris Rouen and at their superb country seat
in Normandy, the Chateau Of Mouline2un, over
looking the Seine Valley at PremesniI- The OBJ
or even eata1ogued. Some extremely rare enam-
els were found in an old pasteboard box in q
cupboard. There are sixty paintings OF very
great value, including half a dozen superb Rem
hrandts six David Teniers, several Bouchers
Cuvps Van Dykes, Wouvermans. RuySdaels
Van der Veldes, Veroneses. Hobbemas, ana
Claude le Lorrains. The collection Of prints
IS according to NJ Cain, 1.-The finest known TO
exist" The Rembrandt prints are equal to
those az Amsterdam. Among the Rembrandts
ere the portrait OF Van Toll, the lawyer, and the
famous Hundred Florin piece There are TWO
Rembrandt prints Of the "Ecce Homo and also
two Of the Saviour prosecuted in the temple
There are eaux-fortes by Rembrandt, Durer and
Callot-
The collection of rare books comprises upward
Of thousand volumes. There is The Life Of
Alexander the Great" In vellUm, richly Illus
trated and ornamented in colOrs, dating from
the fifteenth century. and for which N. Dutuit
many years ago refused offer Of $4,000,
made by q well known London book collector
There are several rare volumes bearing the
arms and signature Of Marie de Me9icis. which
N. Dutuit purchased from ". QuenJiT.-B Bauchart.
There is q Bible dated 1462, bound with the
ermorial crest OF Louis XIV, to whom it once
belonged. There is the richly bound and beau
tifully illustrated description Of the coronation
OF Louis Ah l that had been IN the possession OI
Marie AntoineJte. The specimens Of I ook bind
ing are Of the highest interest. including works
that bear the arms. escutcheons and. in several
instances, the annotations or signatures Of Louis
XII, Francis / Henri II, Charles TX, Henri
", Philippe " of Spain Marie Antoinette,
Nine. de Montespan and Nine. Dubarry- The
collection Of coins and medals comprises Greek
silver coin Of AmphipoIis. Roman gold coins
bearing the efhgies OF Julius Caesar. Agrippa, Au-
gustus, Julia, daughter OF Titus and of Trajan
There are coins Of the Gallo period of Vercin-
getorix. Among the curious French gold coins
are those Of the ValOis and the Bourbon kings.
and the specimens technically termed 'pieds-
forts" which were the original models selected
by the various rulers Of France to be struck at
the mint as the legal money Of the realm. These
models are Of the periods of Charles TX, Henri
III, Henri TX, Louis XVI, Napoleon l. Louis
XVIII and Louis Philippe Among the medal
lions are those in bronze of Septimus Severus
and Of Alexander Severus. In the collection OF
porcelain, china and pottery are fifty remark
ably beautiful pieces of Italian majolica, tahle
services Of old Rouen, earthenware of Rhodes'
dishes Of the Cordova Moorish period dating
from the ninth and twelfth centuries. faIences
OF Orion absolutely unique, works by Berharo
Palssy bearing the arms Of Henri II, and dlshes'
plates and vases Of the best ceramic perloos oI
Rouen, Rome, China and Japan. The COLLECTION
OF glass includes rare and beautiful specimens
from Venice and Prague. There are some eA-
ceedingIy beautiful lamps from the old mosques
Of Cairo, Cordova and Granada, eKqulsIteiy
carved. in glass and bronze. There are dell
cately colored enamels of the time or behNehu'o
Cellini, believed TO be unique
The value Of the Dutuit collection cannot be
more than roughly estimated, but in order 10
make the legacy tax fall as lightly as posslpie
on the Partisan taxpayers, the experts nave
declared il to be only S2O00oOo. Ioselher