Stefano Cardu, an Italian Contractor in Siam at the End of the 19th Century His Life and His Art Collection
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May 1, 2020
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Abstract
The Stefano Cardu Museum of Siamese Art in Cagliari displays an important collection of Oriental art which was collected by Stefano Cardu during the thirty years he spent in Bangkok in the last quarter of the 19th century, while working successfully as a building contractor. In 1914 Cardu donated his collection to the city of Cagliari that is now one of the most important Siamese art collections outside Thailand. This article aims to provide a new and fully documented reconstruction of various phases of Cardu’s life through a comparative analysis of unpublished information available in the archives of Bangkok and Cagliari and works of art in the collection. The gift of the collection to the city of Cagliari is a well-known philanthropic gesture, but at the same time, it hides a complex bureaucratic controversy between the donor and the town administrators, that is here reported through the letters of Cardu and related public documents. Furthermore, this article aims to celebrate two important anniversaries: the centennial of the donation in 1914 and the first opening of the Siamese museum at the City Hall in 1918.
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How to Cite
Fais, R. (2020). Stefano Cardu, an Italian Contractor in Siam at the End of the 19th Century: His Life and His Art Collection. The Journal of the Siam Society, 108(1), 93–117. Retrieved from https://so06.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/pub_jss/article/view/241798
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Research Highlights
References
Italian Archives
Aru 1923: letter of Carlo Aru, the Supervisor of the monuments of Sardinia, to the Prefectural Commissioner Vittorio Tredici, 22 July 1923. AMCC
Cardu 1914: letter of S. Cardu to the Mayor Ottone Bacaredda, 22 June 1914. AMCC
Cardu 1917: letter of S. Cardu to the Prefectural Commissioner Giuseppe Manno, 12 September 1917. AMCC
Cardu 1919: letter of S. Cardu to the Prefectural Commissioner Giuseppe Manno, 22 June 1919. AMCC
Cardu 1923: handwritten sales inventory by S. Cardu, 26 April 1923, pp. 1-9. AMCC
Cardu 1923a: letter of S. Cardu to the director of the City Museums Michele Pinna, 28 April 1923. AMCC
Cardu 1923b: letter of S. Cardu to the Mayor Gavino Dessi Deliperi, 30 April 1923. AMCC
Cardu 1923c: letter of S. Cardu to the Mayor Gavino Dessi Deliperi, 24 May1923. AMCC
Cardu 1923d: letter of S. Cardu to the General Secretary of the City of Cagliari A. Puligheddu, 29 July 1923. AMCC
Cardu 1923e: Stefano Cardu, Il Museo Cardu, in Unione Sarda, 5 May 1923, N° 105. AMCC
Cardu 1927: letter of S. Cardu to his friend Ugo, 10 April 1927. AMCC
Cardu 1930: letter of S. Cardu to the Potestà of Cagliari Enrico Endrich, 3 February 1930. AMCC
Careddu 1923: letter of the lawyer Matteo Careddu to the Prefectural Commissioner Vittorio Tredici, 21 June 1923. AMCC
Deliberation 1914: deliberation of the Prefectural Commissioner N°484. 3 July 1914, Accettazione di donazione di oggetti da parte del Sig.Cardu. AMCC
Deliberation 1923: deliberation n° 1525, 29 July 1923, Transazione col Sig. Stefano Cardu, in Registro Delibere Giunta Comunale di Cagliari, N° 41, pp. 271-272.
Savoia 1881: Pranzo ai principi siamesi. House of H.R.H. Duke of Genoa, Contabilità, file 43, 1879-81, 15 April 1881. Turin State Archive.
Library Archivist 1922: Sunto degli atti e osservazioni relative alla donazione Cardu, written by the Library Archivist, illegible signature, January 1922. AMCC
Library Archivist 1923: Letter of the Library Archivist to Major Gavino Dessi Deliperi, illegible signature, 27 April 1923. AMCC
Library Archivist 1923a: Letter of the Library Archivist to the Prefectural Commissioner Vittorio Tredici, illegible signature, 10 July 1923. AMCC
Manno 1917: letter of the Prefectural Commitioner Giuseppe Manno to S. Cardu, 20 September 1917. AMCC
Marini 1946: letter of Felice Melis Marini to Mayor Luigi Crespellani, 17 August 1946. AMCC
Thailand Archives
Praisaniyakan 1883: Department of Post and Telegraph Archive, 100, 57. Prayoon Wong, Bangkok.
RV: Records of Rama V’s Reign, Nangsu Krapbangkhomthun, (Letters from Prince Chaturonratsami to King Rama V), 6/471; 12/317, Office of His Majesty’s Secretary. National Archives of Thailand. Bangkok
KT: Krasuang kan Tangprahet, (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) L, 42/2. National Archives of Thailand. Bangkok
Secondary Sources
BT 1888: “The Coming Royal Cremation,” The Bangkok Times, 15 February 1888.
BT 1889: “Local and General,” The Bangkok Times, 1 June 1889.
BT 1891: “Local and General,” The Bangkok Times, 1 October 1891.
BT 1892: “The New Public Works Department Offices,” The Bangkok Times, 23 July 1892
BT 1894: “Auction of Mr. & Mrs. Cardu’s Siamese Arms and Curios,” The Bangkok Times, 12 May 1894
BT 1899: “Local and General,” The Bangkok Times, 12 January 1899.
Bottari, Francesca, Pizzicanella Fabio. 2002. L’Italia dei tesori, legislazione dei beni culturali, museologia catalogazione e tutela del patrimonio artistico. Bologna, Zanichelli. Reprint 2006.
Cardu, Stefano, 1918. Guida per visitare il museo di oggetti d’arte (antichi e moderni) dell’estremo oriente, donati dal Signor Stefano Cardu alla città di Cagliari, Cagliari.
Dessi Deliperi 1923: Gavino Dessi Deliperi, Il Museo Cardu, in Unione Sarda, 4 May 1923, N° 104
Directory 1879: Alphabetical List of Foreigners in Siamese Employ, in The Directory for Bangkok and Siam 1879, Bangkok: The Bangkok Times Office.
Directory 1881; “List of Foreign Residents in Siam,” in The Directory for Bangkok and Siam, The Bangkok Times Office, 1881
Directory 1883; The Directory for Bangkok and Siam 1883. Bangkok: The Bangkok Times Office, 1883.
Directory 1897: The Directory for Bangkok and Siam 1897. Bangkok: The Bangkok Times Office, 1897.
Fais, Ruben 2010. La collezione d’arte orientale Stefano Cardu. Proposta per un inventario. Raleigh, NC: Lulu.com. Self-Published POD.
Fais, Ruben 2011. Coloriamo l’oriente. Raleigh, NC: Lulu.com. Self-Published POD [Reprint 2013]
Fais, Ruben 2012. Le pitture del Rāmakien nella collezione Cardu. Raleigh, NC: Lulu.com. Self-Published POD.
Fais, Ruben 2016. La collezione d’arte orientale Stefano Cardu. Studi e ricerche. Raleigh, NC: Lulu.com. Self-Published POD.
Fais, Ruben, 2016a. The Rāmakien paintings from «Cardu» Museum of Siamese Art in Cagliari. Epic Subjects and Their Links to Divine Kingship. in “Cross-cutting Asian Studies: an Interdisciplinary Approach”, a cura di S.Bindi, E. Mucciarelli, T. Pontillo. D.K. Printworld, New Delhi.
Fais, Ruben, 2018. Cento e un tesoro. Centenario del Museo Cardu 1918-2018, Raleigh, NC: Lulu.com. POD,
Fossati G., Dondi G., 1972, Il Museo Siamese di Cagliari, in Armi Antiche, Bollettino dell’Accademia di San Marciano, Torino, numero speciale per il VI° Congresso dell’Ass. Internaz. dei Musei d’Armi e di Storia Militare, Zurigo, 15-20 Maggio 1972.
Fossati Gildo., Dondi Giorgio. 1981, Inventario Museo Siamese Cardu, Cagliari, Comune di Cagliari.
Fossati, Gildo,1981. Museo Siamese Cardu, pamphlet, Cagliari. Comune di Cagliari.
Fossati, Gildo., Dondi Giorgio, 1998, Museo d’Arte Siamese “Stefano Cardu”, Cagliari. Comune di Cagliari.
Nunzi, E., 1923. Impressioni di un vagabondo. Una meraviglia Cagliaritana: al Museo Cardu, in Unione Sarda, 3rd May 1923, N°103.
Paderni, Loretta, 2013, ed. Oggetti per passione. Il mondo femminile nell’arte giapponese, catalogo della mostra, 27 giugno-8 settembre 2013, Palazzo di Città e Museo Cardu, Cagliari. Comune di Cagliari.
Povatong, Pirasri, 2005a. Chang farang nai krung Sayam ton phaendin Phraphutthachao luang. [European Builders in the Kingdom of Siam during the Early Years of King Rama V’s Reign]. Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University.
Povatong, Pirasri. 2005b. “Italian Builders and the Transformation of Bangkok, 1868 – 1889.” In G. E. Gerini and the Mosaic of Genius, ed. Luciano Gerini et al, pp. 185-191. Bangkok: GISSAD.
Povatong, Pirasri, 2011. Building Siwilai: Transformation of Architecture and Architectural Practice in Siam during the Reign of Rama V, 1868 - 1910, PhD Dissertation, University of Michigan.
Sran Tongpan. 1998. Grassi and Western Architecture in Siam, in Muang Boran 24: 2 (April – June 1998): 9-21.
Sran Tongpan, 2004. “Stefano Cardu: Social Life and Career of the First-Generation European Builder.” Damrongwichakan 3:5 (January – June 2004): 240-250.
Siam Directory 1885: The Siam Directory, Bangkok, Siam Observer.
Siam Directory 1887: The Siam Directory, “Merchants, Professions & c.,” 313f, Bangkok, Siam Observer.
Siam Directory 1888; The Siam Directory, Bangkok, Siam Observer.
Siam Directory 1892: The Siam Directory, Bangkok, Siam Observer: 155, 191-192
Siam Directory 1895: The Siam Directory, Bangkok, Siam Observer.
Terwiel, B.J. 2005. Thailand’s Political History: From the Fall of Ayutthaya to Recent Times, Bangkok: River Books.
Torlonia, Augusto, 1892, Undici mesi in viaggio, Città di Castello, Lapi.
Ugo, Ugo, 1977. Dietro il Museo Siamese c’è pure l’eros, Il Cagliaritano, V, n° 2, febbraio- marzo, Cagliari: 52-53.
Ugo, Ugo. 1998. Grande amatore Stefano Cardu che ci regalo il Museo Siamese. Il Cagliaritano, 3, 1998: 28-29.
Unione Sarda 1933: La morte del Cav. Stefano Cardu, unknown author, in L’Unione Sarda, 21 September 1933, Cagliari.
Aru 1923: letter of Carlo Aru, the Supervisor of the monuments of Sardinia, to the Prefectural Commissioner Vittorio Tredici, 22 July 1923. AMCC
Cardu 1914: letter of S. Cardu to the Mayor Ottone Bacaredda, 22 June 1914. AMCC
Cardu 1917: letter of S. Cardu to the Prefectural Commissioner Giuseppe Manno, 12 September 1917. AMCC
Cardu 1919: letter of S. Cardu to the Prefectural Commissioner Giuseppe Manno, 22 June 1919. AMCC
Cardu 1923: handwritten sales inventory by S. Cardu, 26 April 1923, pp. 1-9. AMCC
Cardu 1923a: letter of S. Cardu to the director of the City Museums Michele Pinna, 28 April 1923. AMCC
Cardu 1923b: letter of S. Cardu to the Mayor Gavino Dessi Deliperi, 30 April 1923. AMCC
Cardu 1923c: letter of S. Cardu to the Mayor Gavino Dessi Deliperi, 24 May1923. AMCC
Cardu 1923d: letter of S. Cardu to the General Secretary of the City of Cagliari A. Puligheddu, 29 July 1923. AMCC
Cardu 1923e: Stefano Cardu, Il Museo Cardu, in Unione Sarda, 5 May 1923, N° 105. AMCC
Cardu 1927: letter of S. Cardu to his friend Ugo, 10 April 1927. AMCC
Cardu 1930: letter of S. Cardu to the Potestà of Cagliari Enrico Endrich, 3 February 1930. AMCC
Careddu 1923: letter of the lawyer Matteo Careddu to the Prefectural Commissioner Vittorio Tredici, 21 June 1923. AMCC
Deliberation 1914: deliberation of the Prefectural Commissioner N°484. 3 July 1914, Accettazione di donazione di oggetti da parte del Sig.Cardu. AMCC
Deliberation 1923: deliberation n° 1525, 29 July 1923, Transazione col Sig. Stefano Cardu, in Registro Delibere Giunta Comunale di Cagliari, N° 41, pp. 271-272.
Savoia 1881: Pranzo ai principi siamesi. House of H.R.H. Duke of Genoa, Contabilità, file 43, 1879-81, 15 April 1881. Turin State Archive.
Library Archivist 1922: Sunto degli atti e osservazioni relative alla donazione Cardu, written by the Library Archivist, illegible signature, January 1922. AMCC
Library Archivist 1923: Letter of the Library Archivist to Major Gavino Dessi Deliperi, illegible signature, 27 April 1923. AMCC
Library Archivist 1923a: Letter of the Library Archivist to the Prefectural Commissioner Vittorio Tredici, illegible signature, 10 July 1923. AMCC
Manno 1917: letter of the Prefectural Commitioner Giuseppe Manno to S. Cardu, 20 September 1917. AMCC
Marini 1946: letter of Felice Melis Marini to Mayor Luigi Crespellani, 17 August 1946. AMCC
Thailand Archives
Praisaniyakan 1883: Department of Post and Telegraph Archive, 100, 57. Prayoon Wong, Bangkok.
RV: Records of Rama V’s Reign, Nangsu Krapbangkhomthun, (Letters from Prince Chaturonratsami to King Rama V), 6/471; 12/317, Office of His Majesty’s Secretary. National Archives of Thailand. Bangkok
KT: Krasuang kan Tangprahet, (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) L, 42/2. National Archives of Thailand. Bangkok
Secondary Sources
BT 1888: “The Coming Royal Cremation,” The Bangkok Times, 15 February 1888.
BT 1889: “Local and General,” The Bangkok Times, 1 June 1889.
BT 1891: “Local and General,” The Bangkok Times, 1 October 1891.
BT 1892: “The New Public Works Department Offices,” The Bangkok Times, 23 July 1892
BT 1894: “Auction of Mr. & Mrs. Cardu’s Siamese Arms and Curios,” The Bangkok Times, 12 May 1894
BT 1899: “Local and General,” The Bangkok Times, 12 January 1899.
Bottari, Francesca, Pizzicanella Fabio. 2002. L’Italia dei tesori, legislazione dei beni culturali, museologia catalogazione e tutela del patrimonio artistico. Bologna, Zanichelli. Reprint 2006.
Cardu, Stefano, 1918. Guida per visitare il museo di oggetti d’arte (antichi e moderni) dell’estremo oriente, donati dal Signor Stefano Cardu alla città di Cagliari, Cagliari.
Dessi Deliperi 1923: Gavino Dessi Deliperi, Il Museo Cardu, in Unione Sarda, 4 May 1923, N° 104
Directory 1879: Alphabetical List of Foreigners in Siamese Employ, in The Directory for Bangkok and Siam 1879, Bangkok: The Bangkok Times Office.
Directory 1881; “List of Foreign Residents in Siam,” in The Directory for Bangkok and Siam, The Bangkok Times Office, 1881
Directory 1883; The Directory for Bangkok and Siam 1883. Bangkok: The Bangkok Times Office, 1883.
Directory 1897: The Directory for Bangkok and Siam 1897. Bangkok: The Bangkok Times Office, 1897.
Fais, Ruben 2010. La collezione d’arte orientale Stefano Cardu. Proposta per un inventario. Raleigh, NC: Lulu.com. Self-Published POD.
Fais, Ruben 2011. Coloriamo l’oriente. Raleigh, NC: Lulu.com. Self-Published POD [Reprint 2013]
Fais, Ruben 2012. Le pitture del Rāmakien nella collezione Cardu. Raleigh, NC: Lulu.com. Self-Published POD.
Fais, Ruben 2016. La collezione d’arte orientale Stefano Cardu. Studi e ricerche. Raleigh, NC: Lulu.com. Self-Published POD.
Fais, Ruben, 2016a. The Rāmakien paintings from «Cardu» Museum of Siamese Art in Cagliari. Epic Subjects and Their Links to Divine Kingship. in “Cross-cutting Asian Studies: an Interdisciplinary Approach”, a cura di S.Bindi, E. Mucciarelli, T. Pontillo. D.K. Printworld, New Delhi.
Fais, Ruben, 2018. Cento e un tesoro. Centenario del Museo Cardu 1918-2018, Raleigh, NC: Lulu.com. POD,
Fossati G., Dondi G., 1972, Il Museo Siamese di Cagliari, in Armi Antiche, Bollettino dell’Accademia di San Marciano, Torino, numero speciale per il VI° Congresso dell’Ass. Internaz. dei Musei d’Armi e di Storia Militare, Zurigo, 15-20 Maggio 1972.
Fossati Gildo., Dondi Giorgio. 1981, Inventario Museo Siamese Cardu, Cagliari, Comune di Cagliari.
Fossati, Gildo,1981. Museo Siamese Cardu, pamphlet, Cagliari. Comune di Cagliari.
Fossati, Gildo., Dondi Giorgio, 1998, Museo d’Arte Siamese “Stefano Cardu”, Cagliari. Comune di Cagliari.
Nunzi, E., 1923. Impressioni di un vagabondo. Una meraviglia Cagliaritana: al Museo Cardu, in Unione Sarda, 3rd May 1923, N°103.
Paderni, Loretta, 2013, ed. Oggetti per passione. Il mondo femminile nell’arte giapponese, catalogo della mostra, 27 giugno-8 settembre 2013, Palazzo di Città e Museo Cardu, Cagliari. Comune di Cagliari.
Povatong, Pirasri, 2005a. Chang farang nai krung Sayam ton phaendin Phraphutthachao luang. [European Builders in the Kingdom of Siam during the Early Years of King Rama V’s Reign]. Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University.
Povatong, Pirasri. 2005b. “Italian Builders and the Transformation of Bangkok, 1868 – 1889.” In G. E. Gerini and the Mosaic of Genius, ed. Luciano Gerini et al, pp. 185-191. Bangkok: GISSAD.
Povatong, Pirasri, 2011. Building Siwilai: Transformation of Architecture and Architectural Practice in Siam during the Reign of Rama V, 1868 - 1910, PhD Dissertation, University of Michigan.
Sran Tongpan. 1998. Grassi and Western Architecture in Siam, in Muang Boran 24: 2 (April – June 1998): 9-21.
Sran Tongpan, 2004. “Stefano Cardu: Social Life and Career of the First-Generation European Builder.” Damrongwichakan 3:5 (January – June 2004): 240-250.
Siam Directory 1885: The Siam Directory, Bangkok, Siam Observer.
Siam Directory 1887: The Siam Directory, “Merchants, Professions & c.,” 313f, Bangkok, Siam Observer.
Siam Directory 1888; The Siam Directory, Bangkok, Siam Observer.
Siam Directory 1892: The Siam Directory, Bangkok, Siam Observer: 155, 191-192
Siam Directory 1895: The Siam Directory, Bangkok, Siam Observer.
Terwiel, B.J. 2005. Thailand’s Political History: From the Fall of Ayutthaya to Recent Times, Bangkok: River Books.
Torlonia, Augusto, 1892, Undici mesi in viaggio, Città di Castello, Lapi.
Ugo, Ugo, 1977. Dietro il Museo Siamese c’è pure l’eros, Il Cagliaritano, V, n° 2, febbraio- marzo, Cagliari: 52-53.
Ugo, Ugo. 1998. Grande amatore Stefano Cardu che ci regalo il Museo Siamese. Il Cagliaritano, 3, 1998: 28-29.
Unione Sarda 1933: La morte del Cav. Stefano Cardu, unknown author, in L’Unione Sarda, 21 September 1933, Cagliari.