Even France is pawning its valuables to get by.
The Mobilier National, France’s national furniture collection, has announced plans to sell about 100 of their prized antiques in a bid to raise money for the country’s hospitals overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic.
The agency has not yet outlined the exact items on the auction block, but noted the selected objects date back to the 19th century, namely from the reign of Louis-Philippe I (1830 and 1848).
The auction, which hopes to “contribute to the national effort to support hospitals,” will take place September 20-21, also known as Journées du Patrimoine, holidays which celebrate French heritage. Proceeds from the auction will go to the Foundation for Paris Hospitals and French Hospitals (Fondation Hôpitaux de Paris-Hôpitaux de France), led by the French First Lady Brigitte Macron.
Mobilier National director Hervé Lemoine explained that the items to be chosen are of no great import to French history, and have not been used by any significant public figures. Curators of the national collection will be required to agree unanimously on what will be sold, to avoid “squandering the family silver,” Lemoine told Le Figaro.
The organization, charged with caring for the furnishings of official buildings and palaces, houses more than 130,000 rugs, chandeliers, chairs, ceramics, porcelain, furnishings, desks and more.
Lemoine also announced that the Mobilier National would soon be commissioning new works and restoration projects in order to support contemporary artisans during the economic fallout caused by the pandemic.
“Our first action will be to commission work to restore all the national collection by appealing to all craftspeople,” he told FranceInfo. “The second will be to set up a special acquisitions committee to which young designers and creators can suggest their ideas and projects, that we can buy then make.”
French hospitals won’t have to wait until fall for aid from the arts. Next month, original illustrations by the late Asterix co-creator Albert Uderzo, valued at at €80,000 to €120,000 ($87,000 to $131,000) each, will be auctioned, The Guardian reported. Uderzo died last month at the age of 92.
France is one of the leading countries in confirmed cases of COVID-19 with close to 129,000, and a death toll surpassing 24,000.