Musées de la Cour d'Or

For photos mentioned in this entry, please view my Musées de la Cour d'Or album on Picasa.

Saturday, the 25th of April began the same way most mornings have started since I arrived in Metz, cool, overcast, threatening rain.  I decided an indoor activity was the best plan for the day, and headed to Musées de la Cour d'Or (Golden Court museums).  There are three main sectors, each a collection of local artifacts:  Musée archéologique; Musée d'architecture; and Musée des Beaux-Arts.

The museum's curators created a set path for viewing, so you see everything in the order in which they want you to see them.  I appreciate the structure, but I can see how others would prefer a more freeform manner of meandering through (there are a few points where you can hop from one area to another and review or skip portions).

The archaeological collection begins in the Gall-Roman era, and an unearthed section of Roman baths.  The collection includes artifacts of worship (see Autel à Bachus photo), objects used in daily life (medical implements photo), and funeraria (photos: cremation urn; reconstructed tomb).  The era ends with an Autel à Mithra (pictured here).  According to the museum signage, Mithraism is Iranian in origin, although that is debated by David Ulansey.  Quite a mystery!

I stopped taking many photos and started rushing through when I reached the Middle Ages and Architecture.  I had arrived in the afternoon, after combing the Marché Couvert for housewares and interesting foods, wasn't sure what time the museum closed, and it was getting awfully quiet!  I move through museums more slowly than everyone, because I read everything (though I don't necessarily retain all I read).  Anyway, I seem to remember more tomb recreations (from a Necropolis south of Metz), examples of coinage, a timeline, and a map depicting who was where and when, which I did try (unsuccessfully) to photograph.

Metz architecture has Roman and Gothic influences, and the civil (as opposed to military) 13th century buildings have an Italian influence:  towers that mimic dungeons; low roofs set back from the walls, creased in their upper parts to act as rain gutters.

One of the first paintings I noticed in the art section was St Christopher carrying the infant Jesus, by Peter Huys (pictured).  At first glance, I thought it was something by Heironymous Bosch, because of all the weird background activities.  It is not something I would want in my house, but it was like a train wreck ... I had to stare!

Leaving the museum, I walked around the building to get a feel for where I had been, and found myself at Place Jeanne d'Arc (she is from Lorraine, a little town called Domremy, and her parents' home is now a museum), in front of Eglise Saint-Ségolène.  I am amazed at the number of churches here, given the size of the city!  This one dates from the 13th century, and like many Metz buildings, is built from a honey-coloured stone known as Jaumont.

The museums are in old-town Metz, where streets are narrow, and likewise, walking areas are narrow.  It can be quite scary when cars zoom by!  The photo in the album shows a street with (relatively) wide pavement.

I dragged my tired legs back to the studio, where I sprinkled thyme from a plant I bought at the marché (I have that, rosemary, sage and basil, all perched in a row on my windowsill) onto a chicken breast and cooked it and an eggplant in my single sauté pan (I have two pans, but I use one to boil water for tea) on one of two electric burners, which have all the responsiveness of a snail!