Moïse de Camondo

Moïse de Camondo.

Count Moïse de Camondo (1860 in Constantinople - 1935 in Paris) was an Ottoman Empire born Italian origin French banker. As a child, Camondo moved with his family, from their home in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire, to Paris where he grew up and continued his father's career as a banker. He was born into a Sephardic Jewish family that owned one of the largest banks in the Ottoman Empire, established in France since 1869.

In 1912 he completely rebuilt the family mansion on the Parc Monceau in order to house his collection of 18th century French furniture and artwork. Working closely with the architect René Sergent he created a palatial home suitable to 18th century traditions, even planning the room dimensions to match exactly the objects in his collection. The entryway is inspired by the Petit Trianon of Versailles.

Some highlights include a French silver service that had been ordered by Russian royal Catherine II, a set of Buffon porcelain (with exact reproductions of ornithological drawings) from the Sèvres manufacturer, and perhaps the only existing complete set of Gobelin royal tapestry sketches.

He raised his two children in this home which he donated to Paris's Decorative Arts society as a museum (opened in 1936 one year after his death) in honor of the loss of his son in World War I. Following his only son's death, Camondo largely withdrew from society and devoted himself primarily to his collection and to hosting dinners for a club of gourmets at regular intervals. The museum opened the year after Moïse de Camondo died, in 1935. During World War II, his daughter, Béatrice, his son-of-law Léon Reinach and their children, Fanny and Bertrand, died in the Nazi camps. The Camondo family died out.

In addition to the Count's collection, the meticulously restored service areas, elevator and woodwork of the mansion are noteworthy.

External links

• Musée Nissim de Camondo (named after Camondo's son)

Persondata
Name	Camondo, Moise de
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Date of birth	1860
Place of birth
Date of death	1935
Place of death