Following extensive work by the State in 2021-2022, the two treasury rooms of Saint-Cécile d'Albi Cathedral reopened to the public on December 23, 2022. François-Xavier Lauch, Prefect of Tarn, officially inaugurated them on Tuesday, February 28 in the presence of Michel Roussel, Drac Occitanie, accompanied by several agents of the CRMH, and affected clergy.
Restauration
La présentation du trésor posait, depuis quelques années, des problèmes portant à la fois sur la conservation et la sécurité des œuvres. La chape de chaux créée dans la salle médiévale dans les années 1990, se dégradait sous l’action répétée du passage des visiteurs, et générait un fort empoussièrement dans les vitrines, par ailleurs non étanches. L’électricité, devenue obsolète, posait des problèmes de maintenance, et les vitrines ne répondaient plus aux normes de sûreté conseillées par le ministère de la Culture.
Salles du trésor
Désormais, la présentation du trésor respecte toutes les exigences en termes de normes de conservation : éclairage, étanchéité des vitrines, sûreté, contrôle du climat dans certaines vitrines contenant des œuvres fragiles.
The new museum furniture allows visitors to both rest and contemplate the works and also to go further in the knowledge of the objects through cards or digital content, which will be enriched throughout 2023. In addition, people with reduced mobility who cannot get to the rooms will benefit from a specific mediation in the spring on a terminal installed in the chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, located near the ticket office.
The new scenography of the two treasury rooms is elegant and timeless, but above all, respectful of architecture, like a dialogue. The work performed sublimates the curves of the niches of the medieval hall and underlines the gross volumes of the modern room.
We now rediscover these two rooms in a new light, between deep black and sacred gold showcases, furniture and graphics. The latter, uncluttered, playing minimalist contrasts, accompanies the visitor in his wandering and reading.
The liturgical objects are thus magnified in their new cases, attesting to their aesthetic and historical power.
The medieval room, vaulted space of the XIVe is home to eight niches that once contained the acts of the Chapter. Today they formn Box that houses remarkable pieces of silverware and reliquaries.
The modern room, the former housing of the sacristan, features elegant sculptures ofe end of the Middle Ages, mostly from Albi, as well as richly decorated liturgical paintings and ornaments.
Budget
1 013 441 €, financé en intégralité par l’État, dont 730 000 euros dans le cadre de France Relance.
Maîtrise d’œuvre
Agence Pierre-Yves Caillault, ACMH, Christelle Marty, scénographe.
Maîtrise d’ouvrage
Conservation régionale des monuments historiques (Drac Occitanie).
Entreprises
- Maçonnerie : Entreprise Rodriguez-Bizeul (Fontanes, Lot) ;
- Électricité : Veelec (Quint-Fonsegrives, Haute-Garonne) ;
- Menuiserie : Entreprise Druilhet (Baraqueville, Aveyron) ;
- Conditionnement des œuvres : LP Art (Toulouse, Haute-Garonne),
- Marianne Giletti (Causse-et-Diège, Aveyron), CRPA (Gaillac, Tarn) ;
- Agencement muséographique : Matières à penser (Auterive, Haute-Garonne) ;
- Vitrines : Promuseum (Rosny-sur-Seine, Yvelines) ;
- Soclage : Maud Discors (Villecresnes, Val-de-Marne).
Historique du trésor de la cathédrale
Little is known from the sources of the ancient cathedral treasure. No medieval text attests to a treasure or its location in the cathedral. It is only in modern times that the acts of the chapter are mentioned in the hall above the sacristy. In this room, eight masonry niches once equipped with doors could be closed to secure the objects they contained.
These observations were made possible by the works of development of the treasury. Begun in 1993, the studies commissioned by the State (Drac) to Patrice Calvel, chief architect of historical monuments, aimed at reusing this space then used as a Marian chapel. Its XIX decoration and arrangementse, which it was intended to preserve, were finally deposited to restore the original arrangements. The project proposed by Marie-Anne Sire, inspector of historical monuments, aimed to gather and show many objects then preserved, for the most part, in the sacristy and all coming from the cathedral and belonging to the State. This first treasure chamber, called the medieval hall because of its layout, was inaugurated in 1997.
From the beginning, the project also aimed to reuse the former sacristan’s apartment as the second treasure room. This contiguous space was only built for this purpose in 1880, above the week chapel. Free of the old facilities, this room was inaugurated in 2010 to accommodate mainly objects from the parishes of Tarn in a "treasure of grouping".