Fédération Wallonie Bruxelles

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Research projects

Discover out more about the current research projects being carried out by our scientific team in collaboration with a wide range of national and international partners. 

The scientific team

Lyce Jankowski, conservatrice des Arts extra-européens en visite guidée

The research carried out at Mariemont is organised around 8 thematic areas which reflect the specific features of the scientific work carried out in the museum sector. There are around thirty collaborative research projects in which members of the Mariemont scientific team are involved. The results of this research are made available to the scientific community and are the subject of ongoing accessibility work to ensure that they are passed on to the public. 

Discover their research work. 

Topic 1 « Provenance and cultural biography of the objects »

« From archive to object: a history of the Mariemont collections »

The Royal Museum of Mariemont has quite exceptional archives we can use to study the history of Mariemont from the arrival of the Warocqué family in the early 19th century onwards.

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« On the trail of Mariemont's antiques »

Mariemont’s Greek and Roman collections were assembled at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. An indication of provenance has been documented for most of the objects. However, they have more often than not passed through the hands of collectors.

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« From Egypt to Mariemont: a history of the Egyptian antiquities »

Mariemont’s Egyptian antiquities collection has come together in different ways over time. Raoul Warocqué’s aim was to collect specific types of Egyptian objects but successive curators have attempted to fill what they deemed to be the gaps he left behind

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Topic 2 « A passion for collecting and Museum collections »

« Collecting books: Raoul Warocqué’s books »

Books held a very important place in Raoul Warocqué’s life. At the time of his death in 1917, he had a library of over 33,000 volumes reflecting his interest in humanity, science and heritage.

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« Coal, gold and silver: Raoul Warocqué’s coin and medal collection »

Very little is currently known by specialists or the general public about the majority of Mariemont’s coins and medals. And yet these numismatic collections are immense and varied, spanning the East and West and from Antiquity to the early 20th century.

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« Collecting fashion »

Mariemont’s collections include textiles, garments and vast quantities of lace that are calling out to be examined. Some of the pieces belonged to Raoul Warocqué’s display collection. Others hail from the wardrobes of the women of the Warocqué family.

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« The Decorative Arts collections from the 18th to 20th century »

The notion of decorative arts is itself problematic. It reflects the tension between the utilitarian and aesthetic values of the objects in question.

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« Polychrome : the colours of roman sculptures revealed »

Assembled by Raoul Warocqué, with the expert advice of Franz Cumont, Mariemont’s collection of Greek and Roman sculptures is one of the largest in Europe.

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Topic 3 « Collection management and museum practices »

« The ‘Oser le musée’ initiative: experiencing the space differently »

Le public muséal ne cesse d’évoluer, de se transformer, de se renouveler et les pratiques de médiation se doivent de suivre, voire d’anticiper, ces mutations.

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« Cultural mediation: forms and audiences »

The museum public is constantly evolving, changing and regenerating itself so mediation practices need to follow suit, even anticipate, these changes

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« The Museum’s main collection: creating an experience »

Changes in the museum sector and the increasingly important roles that museums have in society have redefined their relationships with the collections they hold

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« Using digital to showcase the Museum’s hidden heritage »

Les œuvres présentées dans les salles d’exposition ne constituent qu’une infime partie du patrimoine muséal. La plus grande part est conservée dans des réserves patrimoniales où elles font l’objet d’attentions quotidiennes.

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« Sustainability of the collections in the face of changes in the museum sector »

Sustainable development is one of the major preoccupations of today’s museum sector.

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« From archaeological site to museum: managing objects found on digs »

Taking in finds from recent digs, their long-term preservation, incorporating them into their collections and displaying them to different audiences are all on-going challenges faced by archaeological museums.

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Topic 4 « Art research: between creation and display »

« The museography and display of literature and books »

It also serves as a hub for the activities of RIMELL (interdisciplinary research on the museography and display of literature and books)

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« The literary arts: formats and forms of contemporary literature »

Research carried out in Canada and France has revealed the emergence since the 2000s of new literary practices in a digital environment

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« The place of the book within modern-day artistic practices »

Mariemont’s collections of artist’s books provide a basis for more general reflection on the changing place of books in modern-day artistic practices

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« Bindings: between utilitarian design and works of art »

The primary function of bindings is to protect the paper or parchment contents of the book.

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Topic 5 « Identities, representations and forms of expression »

« Face to Face: The People Behind the Mummy Portraits »

Study of 12 mummy portraits (also known as ‘Fayum portraits’) using the latest broadband spectral imaging techniques.

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« The Great Century of Burgundian Rule: a challenge for Belgian history? »

Over the last few years, through exhibitions, popular publications and quality television productions, the general public has been showing a renewed interest in the Burgundian era which lasted from the mid-14th to the mid-16th century.

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« Egypt’s entry into modern-day popular culture »

Whether by its representation techniques or iconography, they have been attracted to, fascinated and inspired by Egyptian art for more than 2,000 years.

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« Hybrids in Egypt and beyond. A multicultural phenomenon »

Halfway between animal, human, plant or animated object, hybrids are to be found in many civilisations. What is the intellectual and/or artistic thinking behind the creation of these figures?

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Topic 6 « Networks, contacts and cultural transmission »

« Dreaming of Exoticism: decorative art exported from and inspired by the East »

The term chinoiserie refers to Chinese-inspired objects produced in Europe. These pieces might have, in turn, inspired Chinese artisans when producing goods for export.

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« The popularity and accessibility of Asian Art in Europe (1850-1950) »

Belgians encountered Asian art at the turn of the century at universal exhibitions, through pieces sent over by foreign national committees.

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Topic 7 « Material gestures, practices and cultures »

« European print culture from the 15th to 19th centuries »

Printed matter is in a class of its own. It was produced solely by a community of qualified professionals bound by the rules of the trade

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« Belgian porcelain, an industrial adventure »

The Royal Museum of Mariemont has a large collection of porcelains, mainly from the 18th and 19th centuries, that demonstrate the diversity of items produced by Belgian manufacturers (primarily Tournai) at the crossroads with European production. 

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« The roman cult of Mithras »

This research programme is investigating the Cult of Mithras, a mysterious god from the East who was the subject of a very unusual and extremely popular cult in the Roman Empire.

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« Domestic deities in the Roman Empire »

Mariemont’s Roman antiquities collection includes a large number of bronze statuettes of deities. Spread over all four corners of the Empire, these objects could be found in small private temples in Roman homes. 

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Topic 8 « Landscapes, regions and layout »

« A place for relaxation versus a seat of power: the origins of Mariemont under Mary of Hungary »

L’implantation, la construction et l’aménagement paysager d’un pavillon de chasse en lisière des bois de Morlanwelz pour le compte de Marie de Hongrie, gouvernante générale des anciens Pays-Bas durant le règne de Charles Quint, est un phénomène étudié.

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« History and archaeology of the gardens: from the Renaissance to the 21st century »

The entire estate is packed with features dating back to at least the 16th century, including buildings (such as the superintendency), roads, old enclosures, icehouses, fishponds and garden and landscape features.

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« The Merovingian necropoli of the Haine Valley »

This collaborative research programme aims to cross-reference archaeological, biological and material data in order to gain a better understanding of individuals, their relationships and their environments.

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« Between local and global : exhibiting regional archaeology in a European perspective »

Regional archaeological collections have been perceived in different ways over the years. Today, territorial representation is vitally important.

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