Chevallier-Verel Collection

Information on the Chevallier-Verel Collection: Victor Emile Gabriel Chevallier (born 07/11/1889 in Frontenaud, died 09/05/1969 in Sèvres) married Marguerite Jeanne Verel (born 05/12/1887 in Paris, died 04/03/1962 in Saulieu) on 12/27/1928 in Paris. Their residence was located on rue Jacob in Paris.

Mr. Chevallier served as an associate professor at the Lycée Montaigne in Paris, dedicating 44 years to civil and military service. He was honored as a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur on March 21, 1955. Madame Vérel worked as a lecturer at the Louvre Museum. Together, they amassed a collection of Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities, antique paintings, furniture and objets d'art, as well as Far Eastern and Asian art. Having no heirs, their collection was entrusted to a family friend and has been preserved across three generations, occasionally enhanced with new acquisitions.

Throughout his life, Monsieur Chevallier documented the finest pieces in his collection through photography. These images remain in the possession of the current owner's family. The ink numbers found beneath each piece correspond to entries in the couple's handwritten inventory, which remains with the current owners.

This invaluable document allows us to identify most of these pieces. It provides definitive evidence that the majority of the collection was acquired during the first half of the 20th century, no later than 1969, when Chevallier passed away. The extensive collection encompasses roughly 240 works, primarily consisting of terracottas, terrescuites, alabasters, select bronzes and marbles. A highlight is the impressive male statue of an ephebe crowned with ivy and corymbs in the Praxitellian style, depicting a young Dionysus with two long locks of hair cascading over his shoulders.

This marble piece, with its beige patina, exemplifies fine Roman artistry from the 1st-2nd centuries AD and stands as the collection's centerpiece.

The collection features predominantly ceramics from various regions and periods: Mesopotamia, including a unique tablet; Egypt from the Nagada period (3900 to 3500 BC) through the Ptolemaic era; Greece; Corinth (Mycenaean period); Etruria from the 7th century BC; Cyprus (11th century BC); and Classical Greece. Of particular note is a lekythos with unique decoration showing figures diving into waves, and a rare ensemble from the Tanagra workshop featuring male and female figures along with their molds - an artistic style that influenced major artists of the early 20th century.

The Greek ceramics collection stands out for both its size and its pictorial and formal variety. The Roman period is represented notably by a rare oil lamp depicting a figure astride an elephant, an uncommonly seen theme. This collection has been carefully preserved and passed down through four generations, who have maintained it with dedication and occasionally expanded it, always honoring the Chevallier-Verel couple's passion for Greco-Roman, Egyptian and Mesopotamian art.