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Antique armours and arms department -13th - 17 th century
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the military Household of the King: an exceptional ensemble of uniforms, emblems, weapons and objects. Considered as an elite corps, rich with about 10.000 men, it surrounded the King on a daily basis and took part in many battles. |
 The armours, custom made, are documents giving us information on the physical aspect of kings. The armour of François I reveals that the king was a giant, 1.95m tall, while the armour of his son, the Dauphin, reproduces the shape of the crooked back of Henri II to-be.
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After the long period of "war of 30 years", when France did not yet have a leading role in Europe, an era of French domination opens with the reign of Louis XIV, in many areas. |
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From Louis XIV to Napoleon III
- moderne department (part 2) |
Do you know how many hats Napoléon has worn ?
About once a month, which means approximately 170 !!! About 20 of those hats still exist nowadays and 6 of them are the property of the Musée de l'Armée. |
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The World wars departement
1871-1945 The infantry supplying tracked vehicle, particularly used in Belgium in May 1940, inspired the young Hergé for its moon vehicle in Tintin : "We walked on the Moon !"
As for the moon rocket, Hergé took as a model the V2 missiles. |
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This section covers a decisive period of French history, military, politically and culturally wise, spanning from the beginning of the French Revolution (1789) to the end of the Commune (1871) |
The contemporary section covers the period spanning from the 1871 war to nowadays. Including four political regimes, and two world wars, it is the witness of our close memory.
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Artillery
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Do you know how foundry workers defined the calibres in the canon decoration? By representing animals on the breech, different ones for different calibres : a rooster on a calibre 12 canon (canon ball of 12 pounds or 6kgs), a chimera on a 16 one and a lion on a 24 one.
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Do you know why Louis XIV crated the white ribbon on his flags? So that the French troops could recognise themselves, because, during the battle of Fleurus, Frenchmen fired at other Frenchmen.
In those days, regiment flags were all different. |
Emblems
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Heir to the Artillery Museum, the Artillery Department of the Musée de l'Armée gathers two types of objects: life-size canons and scale models.
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Made sacred by every army in the world, the emblems (flags, standards, pennants …) are the symbols of belonging to a regiment or a country. They have a strong emotional power for soldiers and veterans.
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Historical figurines
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Historical figurines and small soldiers are popular art pieces, very endearing. By miniaturizing, man is able to focus his emotions. Promises of an imaginary voyage through time, miniatures belong forever to those objects you covet, no matter how young or old you are, because no one would be able to escape the magic of dreams.
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Paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings and photographs
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Collections of historical figurines are made of approximately 150 000 figurines, from the 18th century to the middle of the 20th century. Small soldiers refer to the poetic world of childhood toys; historical figurines are part of the collectors world.
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This section regroups the whole of the iconographic collections of the Museum, and spans from the second half of the 16th century to the end of the 20th century.
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