Edmund De Waal
This true account of the author’s ancestors between 1871 and 2009 moves along slowly, almost serenely, and I believe with good reason. His focus from the beginning of this archival labor of love is an inherited 264 piece collection of Japanese netsuke.
Don’t know what those are? Neither did I, and I realize that while the author includes photos of people and places, maps and a family tree, I wish he would have included a photo or illustration of these treasures. I found this article in The Guardian which highlights just a few.
ne·tsu·ke/ˈnetso͝oˌkē,ˈnets(ə)ˌkā/
- a small carved ornament, especially of ivory or wood, worn as part of Japanese traditional dress as a toggle by which an article may be attached to the sash of a kimono.
The Ephrussi family banking empire began in Odessa, and their wealth and prestige grew as they ultimately lived in Paris, Switzerland and Austria. The author takes his time describing the family members. They were art collectors, businessmen, ladies of society, lawyers, engineers, and they also happened to be Jewish at a dangerous time in history.
Anti-semitism compelled them to leave Paris, but nothing could help them avoid the night of March 11, 1938 when their slowly unraveling freedoms and peace came to a cataclysmic end in the Anchluss.
The netsuke collection’s amazing journey and survival give De Waal a rope to pull the story from letters, archives and interviews. It’s a testament to holding on to things and letting go as well. Perhaps they are simply too precious to him to share a photo with us, the readers of his story.
