Our History

A Passionate Collector

Cardinal Mazarin was not, strictly speaking, a patron of the arts: the impulses he gave to the arts, notably in introducing the Italian vocal style to the French public, he gave in the name of the King, careful never to appear to supplant his master. He was, however, a passionate collector: out of necessity, to furnish his palaces; out of a taste for splendour, to gather precious and rare objects; and out of sheer pleasure, in securing fine pieces at the best price.

Correspondents throughout Europe alerted him to promising acquisitions; Italy, and Rome in particular, supplied him with crates full of furniture, antiquities and paintings. He was the first in France to assemble so many "chinoiseries," those curiosities from the Far East. Collector as much as connoisseur, he exerted a discreet but lasting influence on the formation of Louis XIV's taste. It is this legacy, that of a discerning eye in the service of rare beauty, that the house carries in its name today.

Jules Mazarin et la bibliothèque Mazarine, c. 1659, by Robert Nanteuil

Mazarin Today, 10 rue de la Grange Batelière, Quartier Drouot

A Leading Authority in Expertise

The house of Mazarin is established on rue de la Grange Batelière, the principal artery of the Quartier Drouot, at the heart of the Parisian art market for nearly two centuries. It is within this exacting environment that the methods and rigour that define the house's reputation today were forged, over generations: a deliberate selectivity, a practice of the highest calibre, reserved for collections and objets d'art of importance.

This rigour finds its natural expression in private sale. By conducting the sale of important collections and objets d'art outside the realm of public auction, Mazarin continues the long French tradition of vente de gré à gré, a tradition of elegance and discretion, in which the transaction is concluded directly between connoisseurs, away from any publicity, at a pace the parties themselves determine.

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