In 2022, the regional conservation department for historic monuments began work on cataloguing and scientifically studying the collection of Auguste Dujardin (1847–1925) held at Saint-Étienne Cathedral in Metz. This rich collection of around 2,000 plaster models is a unique testimony to the creative process behind the neo-Gothic sculptures installed during the cathedral's embellishment works, following the annexation of Alsace-Moselle to the German Empire (1878-1919). This collection echoes the neo-Gothic sculpted elements currently stored in the cathedral's stone repository. The presentation given as part of the symposium "A New Middle Ages? Neo-Gothic in the Grand Est" in October 2023, organised by the Modern Archives of Lorraine Architecture in Nancy, raised awareness of this largely unknown Dujardin collection. This intervention is part of a wider operation to safeguard, study, conserve and promote the building's stone repository, which has been carried out by the regional conservation of historic monuments for the past five years.
A deposited architectural element constitutes a complete stone collection without being a stone deposit in the traditional sense of the term. The monumental fireplace from the Château du Bosquet (Ardèche), dismantled over a century ago, is a unique and original ensemble managed as a stone deposit, the study of whose elements has enabled the restoration project to be documented.It is unique because the monumental fireplace at the Château du Bosquet was returned to France by the Philadelphia Museum of Art (United States). Stored in crates, it had been removed from the corpus of Renaissance works in France for a century. It is original because this monumental ensemble, weighing ten tonnes and exceptional in terms of its size and carved stone decoration, has thus crossed the Atlantic twice. The management of this stone collection is overseen by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regional Directorate for Cultural Affairs (CRMH) to enable its return to its original location. The CICRP houses this collection in Marseille, where a study programme has made it possible to update knowledge of the blocks following an initial inventory carried out in 2005. The scientific study has refined the assessment of authenticity. The absence of direct written sources meant that the materials themselves had to be examined. The CICRP study identified the quarries from which the blocks originated and characterised the composition of the materials used by restorers at different periods. Confirmation of their provenance definitively justifies their reassembly in situ at the Château du Bosquet.
Spanish polychrome wood carvings are relatively rare in French collections. Preserved for several decades in Champagné (Sarthe), the relief of Christ in the Garden of Olives remained unknown and neglected due to heavy soiling that obscured its details and concealed its exceptional polychromy. A recent restoration has made it possible to rediscover this work and has raised many questions about its origin and history. Based on the material elements revealed by the restoration and a stylistic study, this article offers some possible answers regarding the context in which the work was created. Despite the lack of information about its origin, it is plausible to identify the relief as part of an altarpiece. Its rich polychromy and the estofado technique used in its creation link it to the Spanish artistic sphere. Through its skilful composition and highly plastic treatment of the bodies, this work demonstrates a detailed knowledge of Italian models and is therefore part of the 16th-century Renaissance movement. A mastery of pictorial techniques is also evident, as is attention to decorative details, suggesting that several artists may have been involved in its creation. As its uncertain provenance suggested, Champagné's relief appears to be a work of Spanish origin, probably intended to adorn an altarpiece and executed in the context of 16th-century Castilian effervescence.
The identification, study, protection, organization, and even rediscovery of stone elements are reflected in the wealth of documents produced. Reflecting the proactive policy of the heritage services, these documents are largely available at the Médiathèque du patrimoine et de la photographie (Charenton-le-Pont, France), the archive service of the Historic Monuments Administration since the 19th century. Minutes of the Historic Monuments Commission, correspondence and notes from general inspectors, photographs and paper inventories themselves, files on the protection of these objects, and even files from private heritage actors and study reports are all elements to be included in a guide to sources dedicated to stone deposits.
When referring to architectural restoration in the 19th century, one must mention plaster. On construction sites, this material became inseparable from stone and, as a result, the two were often stored together, depending on the circumstances of the project. So-called working casts allowed restorers to accurately transpose a model onto stone. Although their use became widespread on construction sites, these pieces were not initially intended to be preserved. In fact, the preservation of the original elements that had been removed took precedence, which may largely explain the fate of the Sens collection of plaster casts in question.These casts were stored in the attic of the stables at the archiepiscopal site in Sens (Yonne) until January 2024. They bear witness to a production system that was well established on building sites in Sens in the 19th century, a period of particularly intense activity at the archiepiscopal complex. The inventory carried out between February and March 2024 identified seventy-six pieces in varying states of preservation. This article provides a brief overview of this collection.
For several years now, the Oise Departmental Archaeology Service has been managing a conservation and study centre located in Creil. However, not all of the collections that would be appropriate for this centre have been deposited there yet. This is the case for what might be called a repository of OLNI (unidentified stone objects), which has been decorating the courtyard of the Archaeological Service in Clermont for several years. The creation in 2022 of the collective research project ‘History and Archaeology of the Episcopal Palace of Beauvais’ motivated some of its members to look into this informal stockpile, which was said to contain blocks from the former palace that became the Oise Departmental Museum (MUDO). This was indeed the case, but it remained to be seen how many blocks were involved and for what reason(s). The majority of the blocks came from several sources: sedimentary archaeological excavations, architectural archaeology studies, etc. The study made it possible to catalogue the 193 blocks according to their formal characteristics, in order to facilitate their identification and inventory. The analysis and interpretation stage was more complicated, particularly because the evidence of the blocks' provenance was incomplete and sometimes contradictory. The corpus of funerary elements proved more fruitful, with the provenance of most of the elements being identified. The case has made good progress, but for the moment, this does not resolve the storage conditions and lack of interest that this stock has suffered for many years, at the expense of its condition and the archaeological information that has been gradually (and permanently) lost.
The restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris following the 2019 fire raised the question of what to do with the materials salvaged from the disaster and how to integrate them into permanent heritage collections. The volume of stone remains (560 pallets) and their varying states of preservation necessitated the implementation of a sorting protocol. Although discussions initially focused on considerations related to the restoration/reconstruction of the monument, the idea of reusing these materials in the building was quickly deemed incompatible with a proper restoration. A new approach was then adopted, based mainly on scientific considerations.A list of criteria was drawn up covering the state of conservation, the nature of the rock, the provenance of the remains, and their identification and representativeness. Craftsmanship was also taken into account, particularly by considering tool marks. A detailed inventory was carried out on each of the four listed lots, namely: the nave's transverse arch, the transept crossing, the north arm of the transept and the remains of other areas, which were affected more sporadically.Ultimately, the stone collection is accompanied by a sorting and study protocol that gives it added heritage value that can be exploited in various mediation operations. For scientists, it becomes a source of research for several decades.
There are numerous stone reserves in the former Languedoc-Roussillon region, which currently corresponds to the eastern part of Occitania. This article focuses on a group of representative deposits, mostly medieval remains, which have been studied over the last four decades. In particular, it examines the collections of medieval religious institutions, including the monasteries of Sainte-Marie d'Orbieu (Lagrasse, Aude) and Saint-Sauveur de Gellone (Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, Hérault), the convents of the Friars Minor in Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales) and the Carmelites in Montpellier (Hérault), as well as that of the collegiate complex, now episcopal, of Saint-Jean de Perpignan. The inventories of their stone collections, compiled in circumstances that varied from one site to another, have had or continue to have very different fortunes.
The principle of taking stone deposits into account by the services responsible for historic monuments was established in the 1849 instruction for the conservation, maintenance and restoration of diocesan buildings, particularly cathedrals. In practice, measures have been gradually applied to this heritage, which is often poorly preserved and at risk of disappearing or deteriorating. While the most beautiful fragments are removed and displayed in museums, the rest are left abandoned or illegally removed.The 1970s and 1980s marked a turning point in the recognition of the scientific and heritage value of stone deposits, with the work of Professor Léon Pressouyre and the development of a doctrine at the Ministry of Culture: at the meeting of the Higher Commission for Historic Monuments on 9 April 1979, Pierre-Marie Auzas, Inspector General of Historic Monuments, recommended that they be inventoried, protected and promoted in connection with their monument.To promote knowledge and management of stone deposits, the Ministry of Culture is working with its decentralised services to develop a methodology for periodic computerised inventorying and storage facility planning. It is also pursuing a policy of claiming fragments as public property. Stone deposits benefit from the new provisions of the Heritage Code allowing the creation of indivisible collections.
Among the choir screens and enclosures found in medieval cathedrals in France, the case of Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme) reveals an unusual fate. Damaged and removed during the Revolution, the remaining elements of the rood screen were reassembled around 1850 to embellish the façade of an apartment building in a suburban neighbourhood. The group of statues known as the Patriarchs and the Prophets, removed from the choir enclosure around 1781, was reused on the exterior of the north façade of the cathedral transept between 1819 and 2001. In 2023, the scientific expertise of the Historical Monuments Research Laboratory and curators from the Sculpture Department of the Louvre Museum was put to good use by the two sculpture restorers tasked with studying the conservation of the eight surviving figures of patriarchs and prophets prior to their relocation. This study made it possible to reconsider the identity and appearance of the original monument, in the absence of any known graphic representation prior to its dismantling, while the available retrospective iconography raises more questions than it answers.The digitisation of the lapidary used in the reconstructed façade and its 3D perspective with that of the statue and sculpted fragments preserved in the cathedral shed light on the setting and context of production of this rare episcopal commission within the still little-known monumental artistic production of the ‘Kingdom of Bourges’.
The cathedral of Thérouanne (Pas-de-Calais) was destroyed along with the rest of the town on the orders of Charles V in 1553. In 1898, the first excavations began and most of the collections were donated to the museum in Saint-Omer. Further excavations followed in the 1960s and 1980s and, more recently, as part of a collective research project dedicated to the town. However, the lapidary initially found has never really been studied. A recent project involving the collections has provided an opportunity to revisit the issue. Analysis of the corpus shows how organized the destruction project was: most of the fragments correspond to the protruding parts of the ornamented blocks, such as capitals and friezes. The care taken in the destruction is also evident in the very regular size of certain blocks that were clearly left behind after being cut into rubble, and in the excellent preservation of complex sculpted elements, such as the foliage on the capitals, which would not have been preserved if the building had collapsed. This explains why only decorative elements have survived. The presence of recurring motifs in Gothic architecture allows us to deduce the ornamentation of part of the choir, even if we cannot propose a complete vision of it. There is a notable resemblance to Arras Cathedral, but also to Canterbury Cathedral (Kent, United Kingdom), the neighboring bishopric of Thérouanne across the English Channel.Analysis of the corpus shows how organized the destruction project was: most of the fragments correspond to the protruding parts of the ornamented blocks, such as capitals and friezes. The care taken in the destruction is also evident in the very regular size of certain blocks that were clearly left behind after being cut into rubble, and in the excellent preservation of complex sculpted elements, such as the foliage on the capitals, which would not have been preserved if the building had collapsed.This explains why only the decorative elements have survived. The presence of recurring motifs in Gothic architecture allows us to deduce the ornamentation of part of the choir, even if we cannot propose a complete vision of it. In particular, there is a significant resemblance to Arras Cathedral, but also to Canterbury Cathedral (Kent, United Kingdom), the neighboring bishopric of Thérouanne across the English Channel.
In 2018, following on from the cathedrals of Sens and Autun, Nevers Cathedral (Nièvre) underwent an inventory of its stone collections and plaster casts used by Victor Ruprich-Robert for the restoration of the building in the 19th century. This work was followed by a project to organize the collections prior to their installation in refurbished storage areas and the presentation of a selection of these items to the public.A diverse collection, the lapidary documents the major transformations of the cathedral from the late Middle Ages to the 19th century, as well as the restorations undertaken after the bombing of 1944, following which interesting remains of the ruined cathedral were preserved; archaeological excavations have yielded new stone elements. Finally, a few pieces come from recent restorations that continue to add to the collection, notably the statues removed from the Bohier tower for safekeeping.The collection of plaster casts, which forms a kind of counterpart to this ensemble, appears more homogeneous and is part of a larger national corpus documenting the practice of cathedral restoration in the 19th century. These casts have been attributed to Jacques-Ange Corbel, who also created the plaster casts for the church in Vézelay and some of the casts that formed the basis of the Musée de Sculpture comparée, now the Cité de l'Architecture & du patrimoine.The work currently underway is the first step in showcasing this collection and also raises questions about what should or can be preserved from the deposited items, an issue influenced by the available space and the ability to ensure adequate conservation conditions.
The Abbey of Saint-Bertin in Saint-Omer (Pas-de-Calais) was a vast complex built around a Gothic abbey church erected between the 14th and early 16th centuries. Abolished during the Revolution, the abbey was destroyed in several stages: the convent buildings were sold and demolished from 1792 onwards, while the destruction of the abbey church continued until the 1830s. Only a few dozen pieces from this salvage operation are known to exist, mainly taken from excavations carried out in the 1830s and 1840s. Works on the abbey since the 19th century all agree that the materials from the demolition were used in the construction of several municipal buildings. In fact, these recovery projects were at the heart of public debate – as can be seen in the deliberations of the municipal council – and fuelled the construction of municipal buildings and the press in the 1830s. However, there is no conclusive archaeological evidence of such reuse, at least not that can be attributed with certainty to Saint-Bertin.This contribution aims to redefine the dispersion of materials from the abbey church in light of a re-examination of archival sources and the discovery of new pieces during the inventory of the stone collection at the Musée de l'Hôtel Sandelin, which began in January 2024. This new inventory allows us to imagine other trajectories for the enormous volumes of cut and carved stones that formed this church and its outbuildings.
The site of the former Cluny Abbey (Saône-et-Loire) now houses several thousand stone fragments, stored in various depots. Most of these fragments come from the Maior ecclesia, which was almost entirely destroyed, and they constitute a unique testimony to medieval art in Europe. The uniqueness of certain pieces from the demolition of the abbey church led to their rapid transfer to a reserved storage area. Subsequent additions and relocations led to the expansion of the collections, which grew significantly after the first archaeological excavations in the second quarter of the 20th century. Managing this volume is a delicate task, not only because of its size but also because of its tortuous history, with its many subtleties. Although the visitor tour gives pride of place to the lapidary, only a tiny part of it is accessible to the public, with the majority of the collections being distributed among a dozen or so storage areas. This article aims to highlight the site of Cluny Abbey, to show the complexity of managing such a dense lapidary collection. Documenting the provenance of the artefacts, clarifying their ownership and history, and showcasing them are all areas being studied by the services in order to overcome the difficulties encountered and ensure their transfer to future generations.
Although it does not currently have a dedicated stone repository, Rodez Cathedral houses numerous sculptural elements accumulated mainly at three different periods in the building's history. Revolutionary vandalism accounted for most of these elements, some of which were rediscovered during excavations carried out in the Chapel of Christ in the Garden of Olives in 2006, and then catalogued and studied by Caroline de Barrau-Agudo as part of her doctoral thesis, shedding new light on many of the cathedral's sculpted groups, some of which were previously known only through descriptions or ancient representations. Since then, several reconstruction hypotheses have been explored, corrected or implemented, as part of interior work or with a view to a 2026 exhibition on medieval sculpture, in partnership with the Fenaille Museum.The dismantling of decorative elements and finishing work in the 19th century also led to the removal of sculpted elements, the most important of which belong to the choir enclosure commissioned in the 16th century by Bishop François d'Estaing. Its restoration and digitisation, recently completed, make it possible to verify the various hypotheses for its reconstruction.Finally, work carried out on the exterior of the cathedral in the 20th century also resulted in the removal of numerous sculpted elements, as well as casts, most of which are now kept in the cathedral's bell tower. Work is currently underway to inventory, select and display the most remarkable elements.
While numerous restoration projects on churches and cathedrals led to the creation of stone depots throughout France, a significant portion of religious works, left unprotected and, in most cases, in the hands of private owners since the French Revolution, became the subject of a lucrative market. One of the major players in this market was the Demotte Gallery, which operated between 1905 and 1935 and was run successively by Georges-Joseph and then Lucien Demotte. Although no archives of this company have been preserved, it is possible to trace its activity thanks to the gallery's photographic collection, which was donated to the Louvre Museum in the 1970s. It is now accessible on a dedicated museum website, following the restoration and digitisation of the 5,320 plates that comprise it. In particular, it includes a very large collection of photographs of capitals, movable sculptures and stained glass windows. To date, it has only been possible on one occasion to identify works previously held in a stone repository among these photographs. Other attributions may follow thanks to the online visibility of this collection.
Curiosity cabinets attest to the desire to understand and organize the diversity of the world. A network of exchanges continued until the end of the 18th century. As heirs to these private collections, most of which were dispersed during the Revolution, certain museums house numerous objects that bear witness to encounters from the past. The red feather cloaks of the Tupinambás, brought back from the Brazilian coast during the early days of colonization, are emblematic of this. These precious ritual adornments, preserved in Europe but invisible in Brazil, have become a talismanic object for the Tupinambá people, themselves rendered invisible by centuries of colonial oppression. They are now the subject of requests for study, restitution, or repatriation, particularly from indigenous communities. The article presents the extraordinary trajectories of these curiosities that became museum pieces and have now returned to the forefront of the political and artistic scene thanks to the travels and research of a young Tupinambá woman who is shaking up all the protocols. By exhibiting her handmade cloaks, Glicéria Tupinambá forcefully brings to light all the invisible beings that populate our museums: Indigenous peoples erased from history, silenced in the documentation of collections, spirits of ancestors, Encantados, and other voices to which our ears have remained deaf, indigenous knowledge still largely ignored by our institutions. Her renewed interest questions institutions and legitimacy, blurring the boundaries between science and art.
U sklopu projekta Hrvatske zaklade za znanost (Potopljena neolitička nalazišta u podmorju hrvatskog dijela Jadrana IP-2022-10-3893), tijekom svibnja 2024. provedena su podmorska arheološka istraživanja na lokalitetu Soline. Istraživanjem površine 3 x 6 metara, definiran je kraj unutarnje strane obalnog zida. Istraživani je prostor povišeniji u odnosu na ostale dijelove obalnog zida, te najvjerojatnije pronađena konstrukcija pripada fortifikacijama koje su dio ulaznog dijela u kasnoneolitičko naselje.
U radu su izneseni rezultati arheoloških istraživanja na gradini Gradac u Potirni, smještenoj na jugozapadnom dijelu otoka Korčule. Istraživanja su provedena u travnju 2024. godine, u sklopu studentskoga istraživačkog projekta koji je financirao Odjel za arheologiju Sveučilišta u Zadru. Pronađena pokretna arheološka građa omogućila je barem djelomično sagledavanje svakodnevice brončanodobne zajednice na ovome južnodalmatinskom otoku.
