möbel, pendulen, bronzen, spiegel, tapisserien ... - Koller Auktionen

Around 1724 on the hills near Vincy, work began on the
construction of the castle as it is today. The «seigneurerie» had
been acquired shortly beforehand by the De Vasserot family, who,
being Protestants, had left France and settled in The Netherlands
and had generated an immense fortune as merchants. After the
«Grand Electeur» of Brandenburg had granted Jean de Vasserot the
title of Baron, the family was able to buy the estate not far from
Lake Geneva.
Enchanted by the beauty of the landscape, the De Vasserot family had
an imposing castle built, modelled after the French royal residences,
and which shortly was considered one of the most beautiful castles
in the whole of West Switzerland. Soon, important personalities
of the 18th century were visiting the castle. Voltaire for example
wrote to the De Vasserot family on 28 April1758: «Quoique je sois
toujours malade, je tâcherai de n’être pas un malade incommode.
J’ai une grande envie de voir votre belle maison et une bien plus
grande encore de faire ma cour à son aimable maître et à Madame
de Vincy.»
In the late 18th century Auguste de Vasserot decided the destiny of
the castle with the establishment of a great estate. He had new and
innovative works carried out on the castle; the use of Classical style
architecture, the enlargement of the terrace and the execution of
numerous contracts by the sculptor Jean Jacquet from Geneva, who
supplied a large quantity of boiserie and consoles. G. de Vasserot
remained throughout his life a dazzling, indeed «intriguing»
personality, who can be summed up with the following anecdote:
«Un jour, il invita à dîner quelques amis, avec le pasteur du village,
qu’il appelait son clergé. Il devait leur faire déguster des bécasses
accomodées d’une façon spéciale. Un grand plat, couvert d’une
cloche, excitait l’appétit de tous les convives, quand, l’amphitryon
le découvrant d’un beau geste, seule une feuille de papier se présenta
à la vue des invités déçus. Il expliqua alors à ses hôtes qu’au lieu de
bécasses promises, et qu’il n’avait pu se procurer, il se faisait un
plaisir de leur offrir la recette pour les accomoder …» Vasserot’s
illustrious friends included the Duke of Kent, father of the later
Queen Victoria, who occasionally bought wines from the castle. In
1881 the castle was purchased by the Delessert family, who in the
18th century and throughout the whole of the 19th century were
one of the most prosperous bankers and industrialists in France.
Château de Vincy (Blick in den Salon)
MÖBEL, PENDULEN, BRONZEN, SPIEGEL, TAPISSERIEN UND DIVERSES 3
In 1996 the castle and the vineyards were acquired by the current
owner: he and his wife renovated the place from the ground
upwards at considerable expense and above all with great love, and
furnished it splendidly; the rooms were returned to their original
condition, the enormous basement vault exposed, all fireplaces
made functioning again, the parquet floors restored, the facades
made good. The estate, enhanced by the enchanting garden «dans
le goût français», was bathed in a splendour rarely seen before.
One of the most beautiful Swiss collections of important furniture,
bronzes and decorations was given the setting it deserved. The
concept was the passion of the castle owners, whose exquisite taste
and thorough knowledge of the »joie de vivre» of the 18th century
court made possible a reawakening of the past here in the present.
Every salon and every room was painted differently or decorated
with tapestries or boiserie; every piece of furniture, every painting
and every object was placed with expert knowledge and a perfect
eye in relation to its surroundings and, sometimes with a few
modern objects, formed an exciting counterpoint.
At the end of 2006 the owners decided to transfer their residence
and to sell the castle. Having restored and furnished the place to
perfection, this episode now appears to have come to a close and
their passion for creating, decorating and arranging is heading in
a new direction. An old town house presents the new challenge,
where rooms from the past will be rearranged and recreated with
expert care and knowledge. The search for and the examination of
the final beauty of a space, for living and for being – that is, of life
– goes on...
Galerie Koller has the honour of presenting the part inventory of
Château de Vincy and is certain that the magic of this marvellous
collection will attract the attention and enthusiasm of collectors,
connoisseurs, museums and enthusiasts.