Down
to earth
Cosy interiors to soothe
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tones and neutral colours
Features: andrea bocelli's home • maison&objet Asia special • 2014 colour trends
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SALUTE
N
umber 43 rue Monceau is
a stately townhouse – part
museum and part private
residence – on the edge of
Monceau Park, in a quiet residential
Parisian neighbourhood. One can easily
walk past without realising what lies
behind the massive wooden doors.
The main source of the world’s best
museums, many 18th-century pieces
in the permanent collections of the
Louvre Museum, Château de Versailles,
Metropolitan Museum of Art and the
Getty Museum have passed through the
hands of one Kraemer or another.
Famous collectors in the past
included the Rothschilds, the
Camondos, Count Boni de Castellane,
Gianni Agnelli, Marcel Boussac,
Hubert de Givenchy, J. Paul Getty
and Henry Ford II. But their current
private client list remains a carefullyguarded family secret that would be
impossible to pry from their lips.
This over-the-top confidentiality is
perhaps how the Kraemers have built
up their reputation over the centuries.
That and the fact that they buy and sell
only the best and nothing else, meaning
that while others may hawk a heavilyrestored piece for a tidy profit, the
Kraemers wouldn’t go near it.
ROYAL
Finery
Kraemer & Cie. is the leading purveyor of 18th century french furniture and
objets D’Art, offering everything from Marie-Antoinette’s writing desk to
early King Louise XV Boulle marquetry cartel clocks. Singapore Tatler Homes
talks to the fifth-generation member of the family-run business to find out
more about the appeal behind these antique pieces
By Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle Images Courtesy of Kraemer & Cie
122 | SINGAPORE TATLER HOMES
The Most
Outstanding
Object
An inkstand,
which belonged
to the skilled and
influential French
diplomat Talleyrand
(pictured opposite),
who worked from
the regime of Louis
XVI, through the
French Revolution
and then under
Napoleon I, Louis
XVIII, Charles
X and LouisPhilippe. Mikael
states, “It’s always
fantastic to find a
piece in a private
collection and to
sell it to a museum.”
The inkstand
was included
in Talleyrand’s
portrait and sold to
the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in
New York.
A Family Line
Mikael Kraemer, the family’s fifth
generation of antiquarians, says, “95 per
cent of the pieces we buy are directly
from the source, meaning top collectors
who have known us for a long time, or
who know us by reputation or through
friends. We want a piece to be beautiful,
rare, in good condition and 100 per
cent authentic. We’ll never buy a piece
if all the wood marquetry, bronzes or
internal and external construction were
not originally from the 18th century.
When a piece has been restored too
much, we are not interested in it. Every
piece we have bought, we decided to
buy it because we loved it. We have the
same pleasure buying a small pair of
candlesticks as a royal piece of furniture
because we are collectors first before
being dealers. We are very happy when
we buy back a piece from the children
or grandchildren of collectors that
originally came from us. The Kraemer
Opposite Page
Portrait of Talleyrand by
Baron François Gérard
with his famous table
and inkstand
From Top to
bottom
The present day
Kraemer family; Queen
Marie-Antoinette’s desk
crafted and designed
by Jean-Henri Riesener
SINGAPORE TATLER HOMES | 123
LEFT AND BELOW
Louis XV pedestal
clock (circa 1754)
name is like a label of quality: today in
Asia, they will not necessarily care if it’s
Louis XIV, XV or XVI; they will care
if it’s a Kraemer piece.”
After having replicated the White
House Oval Office for the 2010
Biennale des Antiquaires in Paris,
faithful right down to the mouldings,
but furnished with exceptional
18th-century pieces – a nod to the
era when Jackie Kennedy bought
furniture for the presidential residence
from them – the Kraemers dedicated
their booth in 2012 to the first solo
exhibition of French cabinetmaker
Jean-Henri Riesener, supplier to
Queen Marie-Antoinette, presenting
an amazing mahogany and mahogany
veneer bureau with its multi-drawer
cabinet, adorned with chased and gilt
bronze, as well as a chest of drawers
in marquetry with a central panel
depicting a flower-filled vase.
124 | SINGAPORE TATLER HOMES
made by cabinetmaker
CLOCKWIsE
Jean-Pierre Latz and
FROM Top right
clockmaker Michel
Part of the allure
Stollenwerck
of French antiques
are their intricate
carvings; Louis XV’s
white porcelain
Chinese-style dog
sculptures with
chased and gilt
bronze mounts; A lion
sculpture from the
castle of Versailles
Currently on show “on the water”
throughout the lobby of the Marina
Bay Sands Hotel is Kraemer’s collection
of antiques decorated with snakes and
dragons, which pay homage to Asian
culture and the long tradition of trade
that has existed between the French
and Chinese civilisations – its first-ever
exhibition in Southeast Asia.
Exquisite Hand-Craftsmanship
Furniture-making reached its peak
during France’s Ancien Régime (15th
to 18th centuries). For the first time
in history, an exceptional desk and an
exceptional painting could be considered
equals in terms of artistry and price.
An extensive collaborative project
between collector and artisan, each
bespoke piece of furniture called for
the skills of least five master craftsmen,
including a cabinetmaker, marquetry
artist, bronze caster, chaser, gilder,
locksmith and leather or fabric worker.
Mikael notes, “The pieces have often
remained in good condition since the
18th century because of their original
value. At that time, they were already
very expensive. They were always kept
in the main rooms of the house, never in
the basement or attic, because they were
protected by their value and considered
to be patrimony, transmitted from one
generation to another. It was the first
time in history that furniture and the
decorative arts were considered to be
a major art and to be more important
than painting and sculpture. Furniture
before King Louis XIV was only useful,
but King Louis XIV understood the
prestige of the art world, so he had the
best artists from around Europe come to
Paris to work for him. Then at the end
of the 18th century, we had, more or less
at the same time, the French Revolution
and the Industrial Revolution, so no
more of the pieces were handmade. That
made a real difference between 17thand 18th-century art and 19th- and
20th-century art.”
“The pieces have
often remained
in good condition
since the 18th
century because
of their original
value. At that time,
they were already
very expensive.”
SINGAPORE TATLER HOMES | 125
Style Watch
SALUTE
After 20 years of hard work, Kraemer
& Cie. regained its place as leader of the
18th-century French antiques market.
TOP LEFT TO RIGHT
Philippe Kraemer
(1928-2011); Raymond
Kraemer (1892-1965);
Lucien Kraemer
(1856-1937)
LEFT
An antique clock
that captivates with
its gold gilding as
The master cabinetmakers of
the time furnished the court, royal
households and the châteaux of the
nobility and rich financiers. Think
Louis XIV, Louis XV, the Marquis
de Marigny, Madame de Pompadour,
Madame de Mailly and Lazare Duvaux
– France’s elite who competed with
each other to have the most beautiful
modern pieces of art. They were often
in their 20s when they purchased these
pieces, as the life expectancy then was
about 50 years old. It was a time of
relative peace with no wars or crises,
and this happiness was reflected in the
furniture’s artistic creativity.
The In List
Today, Kraemer’s clientele is changing.
With prices starting from a few tens
of thousands of euros up to many
millions of euros, while Europeans and
Americans are still buying after selling
off their businesses, a younger, more
cosmopolitan generation of tycoons in
their 30s and 40s is coming up, with
new Asian clients appearing over the
last five years, mostly from China.
126 | SINGAPORE TATLER HOMES
LEFT TO RIGHT
Louis XV polychromatic
lacquered and
veneered commode
with marble top and
chased, pierce and gilt
bronze mounts (circa
1745-1750) by Matthieu
Criaerd owned by
Lourve Museum;
Exceptional large and
elaborate Louis XV
mirror with carved,
gilded and painted
wood overmantel pier
glass (circa 1740)
Never advertising, the Kraemers’
only form of communication is through
word of mouth, when a collector tells
a friend, or an art advisor or interior
designer tells a client. “They fly in
private jets, go to the best hotels and
restaurants in the world, have houses
in every city and want to have the best
art in every category,” discloses Mikael.
“They own modern painters like Picasso,
Léger, Matisse, Modigliani, Miró or
Giacometti and some of the biggest
names in contemporary art like Gerhard
Richter, Anish Kapoor or Damien Hirst.
They also like to have 18th-century art,
which gives a lot cachet and credibility to
their collections.”
As these clients favour placing
18th-century French objets d’art within
contemporary settings, the Kraemers
installed rooms in their gallery where
historic furniture sits side by side with
modern décor, demonstrating the ease
with which creations from the Age
of Enlightenment – originally made
for châteaux and beautiful residences
with wooden parquet – adapt to
contemporary interiors.
much as it does
with its mechanical
complications
A Family Affair
As a prominent Jewish family, the
Kraemers spent WWII hiding in
southern France and returned to find
their Rue Monceau mansion intact
but empty, the Gestapo having sold
the majority of their collection and
pocketed the profits.
With whatever money he had left
following the war, Raymond spent it to
buy a small Louis XV bureau. He chose
to buy one really good piece rather
than several that were less good. From
there, he and his son Philippe rebuilt
the business, swearing: “Even if there
can only be one or two pieces in a room
here, they will always be top quality.”
After 20 years of hard work, Kraemer
& Cie. regained its place as leader of the
18th-century French antiques market.
Towards 1970, Philippe’s sons – Olivier
and Laurent – took charge and oversaw
the extension of the establishment’s
gallery. Their father advised them,
“Don’t try to be the biggest, be the
best.” As of 1998, Olivier’s son, Mikael,
joined the family-run business, today
working alongside his cousin Sandra
and brother Alain.
Mikael recalls, “I started very
early as I wanted to work when my
grandfather was alive because I wanted
to learn from him. It was a very easy
choice. When I hosted friends on
Saturday or Sunday at home, I could
see from their eyes how beautiful the
pieces that we owned in our house
were, and for me it was normal. When
I went to their houses, I could see they
didn’t have the same art around. When
I turned 12, I spent a lot of time in our
galleries by myself, carefully looking
at every piece and comparing them
with those in books and museums. Our
business is not like a regular business
– it’s a passion. There’s no difference
between a Tuesday or a Saturday.
When I’m on a business trip, I’m often
having a better time than if I were on
holiday, and when I’m on holiday, I’m
always trying to do business as well.”
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