Some works of King Ham Nghi were put up for auction on September 22. (Source: VNA)

"The River in the Summer Afternoon", "The Lake at Dusk", "The Wheat Field" or "The Bushes in the Sunset"... are works in the collection of 19 landscape paintings painted by King Ham Nghi that are being auctioned.

Among these, the painting "Bush in the Sunset" was sold for the highest price of 38,000 Euros.

An anonymous Vietnamese expatriate in Germany, who bought two paintings for a total value of 64,000 Euros, said he was very touched when he bought the paintings of King Ham Nghi. According to him, in addition to their artistic value, the paintings also have historical value.

He said: "King Ham Nghi, because he cared for his people and his country, was exiled by the French colonialists. He is someone I respect very much. Therefore, I want to preserve his paintings as memories of a patriotic king."

Expressing her honor to introduce King Ham Nghi's collection in the 13th Indochina Art Auction, auctioneer Lynda Trouvé said that this is the only collection of King Ham Nghi found in France.

And this is also the first time that Drouot Auction Center has had the honor of organizing an auction of such a large collection of works by King Ham Nghi, a king who was once exiled in Alger, an impressionist painter and known as a prominent figure in the fields of literature and art.

According to Ms. Lynda Trouvé, the paintings being auctioned depict the landscape of Vichy city. This collection belongs to Mr. Henri Aubé, a former French soldier who was stationed in Hanoi from 1907 to 1909.

It is very likely that Henri Aubé, during his treatment at the Vichy military tropical hospital after his service in Vietnam, met and became friends with King Ham Nghi, who frequently visited this facility for medical treatment between 1909 and 1913. This precious collection was probably painted by King Ham Nghi during his time in Vichy and given to Henri Aubé.

Scene of the auction on September 22. (Source: VNA)

The paintings had been in a dusty briefcase in an attic and were discovered just in time before they were thrown in the trash, as no one knew the meaning of the hieroglyphics on the paintings.

The provenance of the paintings was suggested by an accompanying postcard inscribed "Colonel of the Colonial Infantry Henri Aubé, Director of the Indochina Geography Department in Hanoi" and signed by King Ham Nghi. The paintings were inherited by Henri Aubé's family and were part of their private collection and were put up for sale by his descendants.

King Ham Nghi (1871-1944) was forced into exile by the French government just one year after coming to power. An art lover, during his exile in Algiers, the capital of Algeria, he learned painting and sculpture techniques from the artist Marius Reynaud and became intensely attracted to pastel painting and sculpture.

Ham Nghi made several trips to France under close supervision and met artists such as Foujita, Rodin and even the writer Judith Gautier. Ham Nghi's works are extremely rare on the market and have never been offered for sale.

This is the first time such a large collection has been auctioned. During his lifetime, King Ham Nghi's works were displayed at the Guimet Museum in 1926.

Also in the auction on the afternoon of September 22, in addition to King Ham Nghi’s collection, about 250 works and artifacts bearing the mark of Indochina art were put up for sale. Many works by famous artists in the Vietnamese art world such as Mai Thu, Le Pho, Vu Cao Dam, Le Ba Dang, Tran Phuc Duyen. Many French artists whose works on Indochina were also introduced and sold at high prices.