Pierre Loti's house of many worlds

During his visits all over the world, Pierre Loti became fascinated by the Japanese and Chinese cultures.
He took this photo in Beijing, wearing traditional Mandarin attire.

In 1886, he set up a Japanese pagoda in the house's former dining room. Dismantled by Pierre Loti's sons between 1920 and 1953, the pagoda has now entirely disappeared. Only a few pieces were preserved, including two suits of samurai armor ...

During a trip to China, Pierre Loti witnessed the end of the devastating Boxer Rebellion. He refers to this trip in his book Les Derniers ours de Pékin (The Last Days of Pekin) and put together this sumptuous Chinese Room on his return in 1902; many of its pieces came directly from the palace in Beijing.
Like the Japanese Pagoda, these decorations were dismantled by his son, Samuel, in the 1920s and sold at auction in 1929.

To celebrate his return and unveil the new Chinese Room, Pierre Loti held a magnificent costume party with a Chinese theme in 1903.
The photo was taken in the Renaissance Room.

Pierre Loti was also fascinated by the Middle East, and especially by Turkey. He first visited Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1877 and immediately fell under its spell and that of a woman: Hatice.
In the same year, he turned his Aunt Berthe's old bedroom into a Turkish salon. Two years later, he published a novel dedicated to his beloved: Aziyadé.

Over the course of his travels and discoveries, Pierre Loti furnished his Turkish salon in Rochefort. Wanting to recreate the light in Eyüp, Turkey, he drew inspiration from the Arab world.
He reproduced the stucco ceilings at the Alhambra in Grenada and brought back fabric and ceramics from the East, Andalusia, and Morocco.

Pierre Loti also displayed his oriental weapon collection in the Turkish salon.
One of these was this splendid khanjar dagger of Persian origin, manufactured during the Qajar dynasty, and probably given to the writer by the Shah's brother or son. In 1900, he published a work based on this six-week visit: "Vers Ispahan (To Ispahan)."

During his stay in Oman in 1900, the Imam-Sultan of Muscat gave Pierre Loti this superb dagger, called a jambiya.
As is typical of the Arabian Peninsula, this dagger was a social symbol and a sign of its owner's wealth.
This one, with its scabbard decorated with rubies and emeralds, is extremely rare and luxurious.

In 1906, Pierre Loti was photographed wearing oriental clothing in a corner of the Mosque that was furnished with cushions covered in oriental fabric and protected by a canopy of palm leaves.
He said it was "a corner where one waits for his sweetheart."

Pierre Loti was not content to decorate his house's rooms with objects from exotic places.

He was also fascinated by the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, as demonstrated by the two rooms decorated in these styles.

As a rule, the sailor wanted to recreate the ambiance of places or populations that were not influenced by what would have been considered modernity.

Pierre Loti used choir stalls and stone decorations from a church in Marennes to furnish this Gothic Room.
He had the windows installed upside down to get the best view of their sculptures.
Some of the furniture dates to the 16th century, while some elements were designed by the novelist before being made by local artisans.

On April 12, 1888, Pierre Loti inaugurated his Gothic Room with a Louis 11th-themed dinner that he held with guests: his sister Marie, his niece Nadine Duvignau, Prince Bojidar Karageorgevitch, and Léo Thémèze, disguised as a Saracen warrior, attended.

The dishes served were inspired by the 15th century: swans, hedgehogs, and peacocks. He even required them to speak Old French at the table!

Similarly, Pierre Loti organized a Saintonge-themed party in 1894 to celebrate opening the Rustic Room.
In this old storehouse, the writer tried to recreate a mythical Saintonge that was closely associated with his childhood years, so eloquently described in his book Le Roman d'un Enfant (The Tale of a Child).

Aside from the formal and reception rooms, Pierre Loti's house also has more intimate rooms.
For example, the Blue Salon has classic furniture, objects from the 18th century, and Limoges porcelain. The room was a concession to his wife and was, the author said, "Most boring!"

The sobriety of Pierre Loti's bedroom also contrasts with the splendor of the reception rooms.

He liked to write and relax in this almost monk-like room.

The decor combines Christian, Muslim, and Buddhist objects, which also reflect the novelist's spiritual journey.

This was originally the office of Gustave, Pierre's brother, who died at sea prematurely in 1865.
The writer kept his brother's pharmaceutical and anatomical specimens there throughout his life, but he also amassed a large number of Indian and Polynesian objects, as well as small natural science specimens and books, and more.

In 1906, one of the ship captain's final missions took him to Egypt, where he discovered the civilization of the pharaohs and found the inspiration for his book La Morte de Philae (The Death of Philae).
He brought back numerous funerary objects, which he displayed in his library, giving the room its name—the Mummy Chamber.
The Egyptian objects have been lost, but portraits of relatives and people who were close to the writer still remain there.

This concludes the exploration of the house of many worlds created by Pierre Loti, a sailor and writer enamored with Eastern countries and ancient worlds (represented as Osiris here).