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Tips For Acquiring Art From France

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Understanding a few key French phrases is paramount to bidding on and purchasing paintings from France. Here are a few terms that auction houses may provide to guide a potential bidder. Please feel free to share your tips as well.

“Très léger cheveu au col” is a tight hairline crack or fracture at the neck of the vase.

“Trous de vers dans le panneau” indicates that the wood panel has an insect infestation.  When I received a Monticelli painting I asked a conservator to clean the painting.  She recognized the signs of the infestation (which the auction house had not disclosed).  The conservator was hesitant to treat the infestation because the treatment could further damage the painting.  Ultimately I returned the painting to the auction house for a refund (which is another story…)

“Entourage de” translates to “in the circle of”. For example if lot description of a painting refers to “entourage de Camille Corot”. In their opinion a work of the period of the artist showing his influence, closely associated with the artist but not necessarily his pupil.

“DLG” is an initialism for “dans le gout”. This is similar to “entourage de” meaning “in the manner or style of” an artist.

“Huile sur toile” or “HST” is “oil on canvas”.

“Huile sur papier contrecollé sur panneau” is “oil on paper attached to a panel”.

“Aquarelle” is a watercolor or gouache.

“Nettoyer” is dirty. I often inquire if there is surface grime on the painting which would require that the painting be cleaned after purchase.

“Craquelure” is is the fine pattern of dense cracking formed on the surface of materials and can be induced by drying, aging, intentional patterning, or a combination of all three.

“Salissures & taches d’humidité” refers to “dirt and moisture stains” which may be present on a lithograph, watercolor or print.

“Déchirure” is a tear which may be present on a canvas, lithograph, watercolor or print.

UPS Customer Service – Revised

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I am following up on my previous post regarding a UPS shipment from France that took over 8 weeks to deliver. As a result of my Better Business Bureau review I received a telephone call the UPS Corporate Headquarters. The UPS representative apologized for the negative experience I had with the UPS shipment and the lack of follow-up by UPS staff.  She had access to my telephone and email correspondence with the UPS staff and promised to contact the appropriate management to address the customer service failures that I experienced. In a good faith effort she also agreed that UPS refund the duties and taxes that I paid for the shipment. She could not refund the original shipping because the package originated in France. It is certainly a step in the right direction to improve customer service and I appreciate her reaching out to me!

As it turned out the shipment that took 8 weeks to arrive had to be returned to France due to an error. I contacted the UPS representative in the Corporate Office and queried if it was at all possible that UPS could cover the cost of the return shipping to France. Without hesitation she agreed and the package has been returned.

I am certain that most people do not experience the nightmare scenario I had with this particular UPS package. The majority of packages ship and arrive well within the original time-frame. This was an exception. The good news is that UPS cared enough to contact me and to resolve the issue. Again, my thanks to the UPS Corporate Representative for her professional, considerate outreach!

UPS – Customer Service

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We all receive packages shipped UPS.  For most of us there are no issues: the package arrives pretty close to the scheduled delivery date. However, when the package does not arrive on time…

I had a fragile unframed watercolor shipped UPS from France on March 23rd.  It finally arrived on April 26th.  For several weeks the information posted on the UPS website was “Warehouse Scan”.   I contacted UPS by email and telephone. The representatives parrot the tracking information posted on the UPS website: “Warehouse Scan”. They could not determine why the package was sitting in a warehouse nor did they have the tools to research the issue.  I escalated the request and spoke to several supervisors – none of whom could provide a better status.  I was promised by one supervisor that he  would “personally investigate” the status of the package and return my call with an  update. That did not happen.

The website also indicated that “Import Fees are Due”. The online payment system didn’t work so I called UPS and made payment with credit card. However the website alert was not updated.  I was told by UPS that the alert would disappear when the package arrived in the USA.  That did not happen either.

I called again and was advised that the brokerage unit would contact me within an hour to review the alert issue. That did not happen.  When I called again and was connected to the brokerage unit the representative told me that the customer service unit always tells customers that brokerage unit will call them back within the hour, but that, in fact, the brokerage unit does not do this. (I miss the days of Continuous Process Improvement CPI!)

UPS has a basic template for package delivery but has no tools in place to handle the exceptions: those packages that fall through the cracks.  The customer service representatives are courteous but there is no value added.  If indeed the customer representatives can only repeat what is on the website then perhaps UPS should downsize the customer service staff and focus on reliable data and better website accuracy.

Today I asked the representative how to apply for a refund. The 3 day shipping has taken over a month and the interactions with UPS frustrating and unhelpful. I was told to contact the shipper and ask the shipper for a refund.  Apparently UPS believes they have no responsibility for their role as a package delivery service.  I asked to escalate the request and was told that a supervisor would return my call.  Didn’t happen.

UPS does not understand the meaning of a customer service or process improvement model!  The service representatives and management staff show no interest in either improving the customer service experience or product delivery information. When I asked to speak to a manager to file a complaint the representative said he noted my concern. I queried “So will a manager be contacting me?”   He said no, he was only noting my concern… (whatever that means…)

It is unfortunate but, when a delivery is missed, I cannot say that I have had better service with FedEx or DHL either.  I wish I could ship USPS from France. Despite the critics, I have always found their services to be more reliable.

MBE coordinated the shipping of this particular package with UPS.  Due to our shared experience they recommend that future parcels ship DHL or FedEx to avoid similar scenarios.

Finding Shippers in France & Belgium

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You found a painting, a piece of ceramic, glass or another decorative art item at an online auction in France or Belgium. You requested and received the condition report and confirmed payment options are satisfactory. The one remaining task before you submit a bid is to identify available shipping services. There are a few good shipping services in Paris but quotes can vary by 200-500 Euros for similarly sized and weighted items even by the same shipper! Extending into the remote areas of France and much of Belgium (including Brussels) the options are fewer. And in some locations you will not be able to find a shipping service.

In the auction is in Paris I request estimates from at least three shippers due to the significant variation in pricing. I recently purchased a small painting in Brussels and contacted the seven shipping firms that the auction house recommended. Of the seven firms only three provided quotes. The quotes received were between 500 – 1000 Euros which, I felt from experience, were too high. I contacted three shippers in Paris and the best price to ship the same package was less than 275 Euros. Fortunately, the auction house Cornette de Saint-Cyr has locations in both Brussels and Paris and easily arranged to transfer the painting to Paris where I could take advantage of the lower shipping rate.

This is the process I follow to ensure that a) shipping options are available and b) that I obtain the best shipping quote:

Before bidding at on online auction verify that there are viable shipping options:

    1. Does the auction house provide shipping services?  If so, can they quote an approximate shipping rate?  Is insurance included?
    2. If the auction house does not provide shipping services can they provide a list of shippers?
    3. If the quotes received from the list of shippers are high ask if the auction house has a different location where the piece can be transferred to.  (For example, Millon and Cornette de Saint Cyr have auction houses in Brussels and in Paris.)  Request a list of shippers from the alternate location to determine if transferring the item provides better shipping options.
    4. Check online or ask nearby auction houses for their list of shippers.
    5. If you cannot find a shipping service and are still intent to bid on the item you may be able to persuade the auction house to pack the item for you.  The auction house may be willing to ship via LaPoste in France or Bpost in Belgium which are comparable to the United States Post Service (USPS).  Request that the auction house insure the item and pack well in a sturdy box (or double box if the item is fragile).  Note:  You may not be able to fully insure the items due to limits set by these services.
    6. Another option is to ask the auction house to pack the item as described above.  Depending on the location UPS, DHL or FedEx may be able to arrange a pick-up at the auction house and provide full insurance.

Identify payment options. In remote areas the shippers may not take credit card payments or may be unwilling or unable to fully insure packages. You may need to accept less insurance and pay via a wire transfer.

Best Tip: Where possible, always obtain quotes from multiple shippers even from those who typically quote high. You may be pleasantly surprised!  Consider all options.

Louis Lourioux Remembered…

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Louis Lourioux died in an accident while driving his convertible Delahaye Grand Sport in Bourges at the young age of 35 in 1930. However, it would be tragic to dismiss his considerable artistic contribution to French ceramics.

Louis Lourioux began producing around 1902 in Foëcy, in the midst of the Art Nouveau period. Imaginative and creative, he creates superb pieces of shapes or decorations inspired by the plant and animal world. The Academy officer appointed him an “art ceramist” in 1906. He then moved towards decorations with geometric and Art Deco shapes. Like Émile Decoeur, he is noted for the quality and variety of his enamels.

Louis Lourioux took over the management of the Buchon and Legros porcelain factory in 1924. He quickly developed the business by creating original materials, shapes and patterns, combining ingenuity and technical mastery in his research laboratory. The factory employed around two hundred workers in the 1920’s.

He quickly oriented his manufacture towards a more artistic production with the help of the decorator Aristide Pipet and the sculptors Joé Descomps-Cormier and Charles Lemanceau. He also worked for the La Maîtrise (Galeries Lafayette) and Primavera workshops and exhibited his works in many salons: Salon d’automne, the salon of decorative artists…

After his death in 1930, the factory was managed by his widow until 1949, then by a niece associated with the Lunéville earthenware factory before joining the Deshoulières porcelain group in 1968. Pieces are marked either with the two wings, each with an “L” – a play on words in French – deux ailes – two wings and two “L”s, or with the stamp of a running female wolf – à la louve.

Lourioux Stoneware Vase
Louis Lourioux Vase for Purchase

Jean Carries

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Jean-Joseph Marie Carriès (1855-1894) is remembered for his visionary work and technical mastery as a sculptor and ceramicist. He was born in Lyon, France where, at the age of six, is orphaned and raised in a Roman Catholic orphanage. He apprentices with a local sculptor, Pierre Vermare, before moving to Paris to enroll at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris to study sculpture under Augustin-Alexandre Dumont. He gains recognition for his sculpted (mostly bronze) works at the Paris Salons of 1875, 1879, and 1881. In 1878, being influenced by the Japanese ceramic works at the World’s Fair in Paris, Jean Carriès begins the study of pottery. In 1886 he is introduced to Ernest Chaplet by the artist Paul Gauguin at the Chaplet workshop on Rue Blomet. In 1888 Jean Carriès installs a workshop in La Bertille in Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye and presents his first stoneware works, a year later, in his studio on Boulevard Arago in Paris. His stoneware includes whimsical “grotesque” masks, fauns with rabbit ears, misshapen toads, heads of babies with grimacing faces, and elegant, sumptuous vases with running glazes. Jean Carriès dies at the age of 39 from pleurisy and is buried in Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris. Despite his early death, his artistic legacy continues with the followers of l’Ecole De Carriès (school of Carries).

Forum Auctions & Alban Shipping – Stars of 2019

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I participated in the Editions and Works on Paper 1500-2018 auction on January 29, 2019 by Forum Auctions in London.  I was interested in Lithographie no.18 by the French painter, Pierre Soulages.  His lithographs are in demand and finding one in very good condition (without staining, foxing and discoloration) is a challenge.  Robert Jones at Forum Auctions kindly provided the initial condition report and Sarah McLean forwarded high resolution photographs confirming that the condition was indeed quite good.  Encouraged, I placed a bid and won the lot!

Pierre Soulages Lithograph Framed

I contacted several firms for a shipping quote and raised a concern with Sarah about potential damage in transferring the unframed lithograph to the shipper’s facility. Sarah recommended Alban Shipping and then personally coordinated the transfer of the lithograph from the auction house to the shipping facility.  The lithograph arrived in perfect condition!

If you have the opportunity please check out Forum Auctions and Alban Shipping. They will provide you with a well coordinated, memorable experience coupled with stellar customer service!

Arts De L’Ecole De Nancy

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A Tribute To Frères Mougin

Mougin Atelier - Cappelaere & Prunaux Encheres

On January 26th, treasured items of French ceramic history were disseminated around the globe. The Arts De L’Ecole De Nancy sale by Cappelaere-Prunaux auctioned ceramics by the gifted Mougin family – Joseph, Pierre, Odile, Bernard and Francois. Dr. Jacques G. Peiffer, distinguished author of several important books on the Frères Mougin is the cited expert for the sale.  In addition to the ceramics, and why (to me) this sale is so very special, is the auctioning of personal memorabilia associated with this renowned family: – Photographs of Joseph Mougin working in the atelier – Intimate family photos – Designs, drawings & paintings by the family – Works by artists closely associated with the family – Victor Prouvé, Gaston Goor, Geo Conde – Several lots of glass photographic plates documenting the ceramic works – Photographs of the important Luneville Faience.

I am so fortunate that I happened to stumble upon this rare event! I purchased my first Frères Mougin vase 25 years ago. It was my introduction to French ceramics: an introduction that has led to an exciting world of exploration and discovery. There will always be a special place in my heart for the Famille Mougin.