Chapters 11 and 12 Summary and Analysis

Chapter 11: A 'Very Brilliant Five O'Clock"

Charles moved the netsuke collection with him to his new home in 1891. It was located on the avenue d'Iena and was larger than his suite at the Hotel Ephrussi but not as opulent. When Edmund tried to visit the home, he was told by the proprietor that no one by the name of Charles Ephrussi had ever lived there. Edmund found out later that the original house had been torn down in the 1920s. The area was upscale and exclusive. When he purchases the house, it was near the newly constructed Eiffel Tower. Japanese artwork had so flooded Paris that it was looked down upon as bric-a-brac.

Edmund found indications that Charles had moved on from Japanese art to a focus on French XVIIIth century furnishings and décor for his new home...