Exit, pursued by a hare

My aunt and uncle very kindly bought me The Hare with Amber Eyes, by Edmund de Waal, for my birthday. If you haven’t read it, it’s the story of a collection of miniature Japanese carvings (netsuke) owned by his ancestors. The story of the collection is really the story of his family, as they purchase the carvings in Paris, send them to Vienna, and then through various wanderings they end up in his possession in London. I won’t spoil the story for you, as it has many twists and turns, but de Waal retraces his family’s steps through Europe and even to Japan.

The story proper starts in Paris, when the netsuke first come to the family’s grand house on the rue de Monceau. Today looked like being a beautiful day, so I took some notes from the book and went off on an adventure.For the full photos, see the album.

Shortly after Leo and Minna Ephrussi moved to Paris, their daughter Betty fell ill and died. So the family had to buy space in the Montmartre cemetery. 

The cemetery is in an old quarry, previously outside the city walls, but Paris has encircled it and in some cases run right over the top of it.

 I went searching - all I had to go on was that the Jewish quarter was on the Eastern side of the cemetery.

Hmmm, maybe I'm getting closer.

 Louise Cahen d'Anvers was the married lover of Charles Ephrussi, the son who bought the netsuke, so this might be her family tomb. It was very dark inside so I couldn't make out all the names.

Then I came across this tomb - Jules was another of Leo and Minna's sons.  Betty's daughter married Theodore Reinach, so Paul must have been one of their sons.

I wandered around for a bit after this, getting sore feet on the cobblestones and getting quite hungry too. I was just about to give up when I looked up and there it was:

The lighting is not good, but it says "Ephrussi Family". Inside are inscriptions for Betty and Minna. There are other words carved, but they are not in French and is worn down by time.

I didn't find where Charles was buried, or his father. Maybe they left Paris. I'll have to read the book again. I wandered around the cemetery a bit longer and saw some of their famous neighbours.

 Had lunch in this little park. Not sure how Hector would feel about being surrounded by a children's playground.

 81 rue Monceau, the home of the Ephrussi family.

 Apparently the ironwork represents double 'E's

 Further down the street is this very beautiful museum.

This has a very sad story. The owner, Moise de Camondo, spent years furnishing this house with beautiful things for his son. However the son, Nissin, was a pilot in WWI and was killed in aerial combat, so the father gave it to the French Government in his memory. The father died in 1935, and then his daughter, her husband and their children were all deported to Auschwitz in WWII. The house is exquisite, but so sad that the family is all gone.

 An entire room just for the porcelain...

Of course the room for the books is my favourite.

 The father's brother lived next door in this house which is apparently just as sumptuous.

Gates to the Parc Monceau.People doing what they usually do in Paris parks on a sunny Saturday - ignore the "Keep off the grass signs"...

 Graffiti on a nearby construction site.