Wednesday 11 January - Musee de Cluny

The Musee de Cluny houses medieval items in an interesting medieval mansion in the Sorbonne.  The collection is amazing and it is extremely well maintained and exhibited. It contains Alabasters; Stained glass; Tombstones; Sculptures; Goldsmiths work; The Lady and the Unicorn; Chapel; Items of domestic life; Warfare, hunting and tournaments.  In spite of the wide range of subjects the exhibits are carefully chosen and displayed so that we were not overwhelmed.  I think the pictures will tell the story.

The colors in this painting were vivid

We were amused that this man needed a fig tree rather than a fig leaf to hide the naughty bits

This colored carving shows a group schoolchildren - with a dog begging in front

The gold and silver work was exquisite.

The sixth tapestry

One of the highlights was a group of six extremely large tapestries each one with a lady with a unicorn.  Five showed sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch, the sixth being love or free choice. They were acquired in 1882 and have been extremely well restored

There are many wonderful details such as this fox

The stained glass was beautiful

This wooden carving is close to life size and we were amazed at the way the carver had shown water flowing out of the pot.

The chapel had some beautiful stonework

We took our time but were able to get back in time for a late lunch at Le P'tit Canon.  The Parmentier de confit de canard was a first for both of us.  This is Shepherds Pie but made with duck confit.  It was very good but very hot.