In the second half of the sixteenth century, a foundry was set up on a parcel of land to the north of Rue du Saulger. It consisted of a flat-tile furnace in which metal was melted in crucibles made of fireclay. The foundry produced bells, as shown by the exavation of a number of mould fragments.

The artisan appears to have been involved in commissions for funeral monuments for the abbey church. Indeed, elements of plaster moulds for making small terracotta statues were found in the furnace fill.

A stylistic analysis of these sculpture fragments reveals striking similarities with the work of Ponce Jacquio, a French sculptor who-between 1563 and 1570-worked with Germain Pilon Germain Pilon : (1528 - 1590)
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French sculptor born in Paris, one of the most important artists of the French Renaissance; created tomb sculpture in particular, including that of Henry II and Catherine de Medicis. on the tomb of Henry II and Catherine de Medicis. In 1563, the artist was paid 450 pounds for creating the ceramic and plaster models for this tomb.

Thermo-remanent magnetism Thermo-remanent magnetism
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A method for dating fired clay, also called archaeomagnetism. In unfired clay, the grains display an arbitrary magnetic orientation. When the clay is heated, thermal agitation causes the magnetism to change. Certain grains are thus magnetized and align themselves parallel to the terrestrial magnetic field. The direction and intensity of the thermo-remanent magnetism are measured in order to date the firing of the clay. To date a potsherd by the direction of its thermo-remanent magnetism, it must have remained in situ since its firing. analysis of the furnace dates its last use to around 1580, or some ten years after Ponce's death. We can imagine that, in his shop, the bronze-smith kept the moulds and a few models that he had created for the famous sculptor.

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