A Nîmes' cabinet of curiosities
Reminiscent of a 17th century cabinet of curiosities, the Museum of Old Nîmes (Musée du Vieux Nîmes) brings its unusual objects out of the storerooms to turn itself into a wonder-room.
Ensemble d'objets de la collection du Musée du Vieux Nîmes (21ème siècle) by Artistes diversMusée du Vieux Nîmes
View of the Cabinet de curiosités (Cabinet of Curiosities) exhibition, 2021
Originating in the Renaissance, the cabinet of curiosities is a multidisciplinary exhibition space that can range from a cabinet with drawers to a dedicated room. Some cabinets of curiosity were strictly private, while others welcomed visitors. In the past, it provided an overview of the knowledge of a given period. It gathered objects from the New World.
Ensemble d'objets de la collection du Musée du Vieux Nîmes (21ème siècle) by Artistes diversMusée du Vieux Nîmes
View of the Cabinet de curiosités (Cabinet of Curiosities) exhibition, 2021
In the 16th century, owning a cabinet of curiosities was seen as a hallmark of power and glory. In Europe, the power of a princely family could be measured by the size of its collection. The Italian princes were the first to build collections of paintings and sculptures. These works were displayed in courtyards, gardens, and dedicated galleries.
View of the Cabinet de curiosités (Cabinet of Curiosities) exhibition, 2021
In the 17th century, collectors began to open their collections to the public. With the development of exploration voyages around the world, powerful figures could exhibit exotic objects and scientific instruments alongside antique objects.
Ensemble d'objets de la collection du Musée du Vieux Nîmes (21ème siècle) by Artistes diversMusée du Vieux Nîmes
View of the Cabinet de curiosités (Cabinet of Curiosities) exhibition, 2021
While some collections were only accessible to select members of the public, the French Revolution prompted the authorities to conduct an inventory of the works seized from the aristocracy and religious congregations, with the aim of sharing these collections, which had become public and returned to the people. Some cabinets of curiosities were kept untouched while others were dismantled and dispersed in different places.
Les bottes de Postillon (1770/1840) by AnonymeMusée du Vieux Nîmes
The postilion boots
These boots were part of the uniform of the postilions, which was worn in France between 1770 and 1840. At that time, postilions drove horse-drawn mail coaches from one coaching inn to another. They are made of boiled leather, wood, and metal, and weigh 8 pounds (4 kilos) each. Attached to the stirrups of the saddled horse and lined with straw, they protected the legs of the postilion should an accident occur.
Casque (19ème siècle) by AnonymeMusée du Vieux Nîmes
Morion-type helmet
Supposedly of Moorish origin, the morion is a helmet that first appeared in the Carolingian era. The word is derived from the Spanish term morra, which refers to the upper part of the head. Composed of a hemispherical crown topped with a crest, this helmet is reminiscent of the Spanish era of the conquistadores. It found its place in the museum's collections alongside a series dedicated to the army.
Table à toupie (19ème siècle) by Barbier J.Musée du Vieux Nîmes
Dutch spinning top table
This table game is also known as Dutch spinning top or Indian spinning top. Although its origins are uncertain, it is likely that sailors of the Dutch East India Company invented it in the 17th century.
Dutch spinning top table
Composed of a rectangular wooden board surrounded by balusters, the game alluded to the war opposing the United Provinces to Spain from the second half of the 16th century to the early 17th century. Propelled on the launch pad, the top symbolized the Dutch overthrowing the Spanish government, represented by the pins.
Cuisinière by AnonymeMusée du Vieux Nîmes
Dollhouse kitchen stove and its utensils
This dollhouse kitchen stove shows how the kitchen was equipped at the beginning of the 20th century. Tinware and a wood stove were the fashion! The tap on the left indicates the use of running water, but there is, however, no sign of a fridge. Instead, iceboxes were still in use at the time and the cold chain was ensured by ice packs.
Lanterne magique by AnonymeMusée du Vieux Nîmes
Magic lantern and oil lamp
The magic lantern was invented in 1659 in The Hague in the Netherlands by astronomer Christiaan Huygens. A flame projects light and enlarges on a screen still or animated images painted on glass. Easily carried and popularized by peddlers, these first live performance devices played an essential role in the dissemination of political and social information for centuries.
Paperolle dédiée à Sainte Dorothée by AnonymeMusée du Vieux Nîmes
Paper quilling dedicated to Saint Dorothy
Quilling is the art of rolling up thin strips of paper using a finger or a quill. It dates back to the invention of paper in the 2nd century in China.
Paper quilling dedicated to Saint Dorothy
During the Renaissance, French and Italian nuns used this technique to imitate the goldsmith's gold and silver filigree to decorate the saints' relics that were enclosed in a glass frame.
Télescope (18ème siècle) by AnonymeMusée du Vieux Nîmes
Gregorian telescope
In the 17th century, three years before Isaac Newton's invention, James Gregory, a Scottish mathematician and astronomer, invented the Gregorian telescope. This telescope was only built in 1673 and history will retain Newton's invention. Making mirrors was still a difficult task in the 18th century, so telescopes were initially smaller. It was then of little use and reserved for a learned audience.
Gregorian telescope
It wasn't until 1740 when James Short built the first Gregorian telescopes for European observatories. Thanks to this series of inventions, Benjamin Valz, an astronomer from Nîmes, discovered planet Neumausa (Nîmes in Latin) during the second half of the 19th century.
Paire de soles by AnonymeMusée du Vieux Nîmes
Pair of shoes used to shell chestnuts
In this region, this pair of shoes was formerly used to trample the chestnuts that had been dried in a small building called a clède. The spikes removed the husks. The fruit of the chestnut tree, also known as breadfruit, once played an important role in the diet of the Cévennes, a mountainous region located north of Nîmes.
Moine by AnonymeMusée du Vieux Nîmes
Moine
This is not a sled but a moine (monk), and this is not a religious object either. In the past, the fireplaces in the bedrooms hardly ever worked in winter. Slipped between the bed sheets, the moine's wooden frame held the sheets apart. An earthen pot filled with embers was then hung in the center to heat the bed before people could slip into it.
Castelet (18ème siècle) by AnonymeMusée du Vieux Nîmes
Castelet
Introduced at the end of the 18th century, this artificial incubator was used in the silk industry. It was used to warm the eggs of the Bombyx mori butterfly that were placed in the four inner drawers at the beginning of the silkworms' breeding in spring. An alcohol lamp placed under the incubator made it possible to reach the required temperature by heating the sides filled with water.
Castelet
Although this technical innovation marked significant progress, it was seldom used in the Cévennes region where the eggs of Bombyx mori were traditionally incubated in a small pouch placed under ladies' corsets and underskirts.
La canne de conscrit by AnonymeMusée du Vieux Nîmes
Conscript's stick
Don't be fooled, this is not a majorette's baton, but a conscript's stick. A law passed in 1798 made military service compulsory in France. Before completing seven years of military service, the conscript's stick symbolized the passage to adulthood. Made of glass with a round knob, this cane bears the French patriotic colors—blue, white, and red—twisted into the mass. It was not unusual for its hollow inner part to be filled with alcohol.
Conscript's stick
Upon a young man's return from his military service, the contents of the stick would be drunk with family and friends. The cane was subsequently broken before being exhibited as a symbol of the end of boyhood. To find a copy in perfect condition means that, unfortunately, the soldier did not come back.
Realization: Ville de Nîmes - Musée du Vieux Nîmes
Iconography: © Ville de Nîmes - Musée du Vieux Nîmes
