Yves Bourel, a wiry and voluble man, has eyes that gleam with an excitement that reflects the sparkle from the 750 pieces of cleaned, repaired and re-mounted ceramic and porcelain in the refurbished Musée de l'hôtel Sandelin (Sandelin Hotel Museum) at Saint-Omer in northern France, where he is the curator.
Contemplating the website that has resulted from the refurbishment intensifies his excitement. Bourel's driving aim was to make his collections more exciting to the public and to experts. In the eight years the refurbishment has taken, work has included restoration of the Sandelin's three collections.
The ceramics collection is one of the largest in France and has a wider international significance, but there is also fine art, plus local artefacts and religious art.
The elegant, 18th-century facade of the Sandelin, built in 1777 by the Countess of Fruges as a townhouse, has also had a facelift.
The first task for the staff was housekeeping, which involved a complete inventory of the museum's stock, with an assessment of what repairs were needed.
A decision was taken early on to digitise the inventory and as a result the museum was able to develop a website, on which most of the three collections are now displayed. Once the objects were catalogued, two parallel projects began: the restoration, and the planning of new displays.
The ceramics collection had previously been displayed chronologically in floor-to-ceiling cabinets. 'I used to see people coming in through those doors,' Bourel says, standing in the largest of the seven first-floor ceramics rooms, 'and their eyes would just glaze over. They would look at the shelves upon shelves and they would walk out in minutes. I wanted them to stay.'
These displays have been replaced by state-of-the-art cabinets (Bourel is particularly proud of the neatness of the concealed mounts), which are lit by a combination of natural and artificial lighting.
The aim of the revamped display is to show the interrelationships between far eastern ceramics and Europe, the relationships with the Middle East, and the growth of the ceramics industry in Delft and elsewhere in Europe.
Small rooms focus on the development between the far east and Holland, while the larger rooms explain different production methods. Most European manufacturing centres are represented, including Stoke-on-Trent in the UK.
The debate about the Sandelin's refurbishment is one that is repeated in museums everywhere, not least at Stoke-on-Trent's Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, which has an internationally important ceramics archive and where a refurbishment is also planned.
The discussion in Saint-Omer centred on whether international or more parochial interests should predominate, with the decision often coming down on the side of the wider view. The local story continues to be told, partly through links into the museum's other collections.
Saint-Omer, situated to the north of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, is geographically close to Delft and French ceramics centres such as Lille, Desvres and Rouen. It also had trade links with the Americas.
The new displays in the Sandelin are organised so that the pieces, particularly the spectacular ones, catch the eye. Light and colour are used to move attention from object to object.
Wall-mounted information panels explain how particular styles are made and also how designs and methods were translated between countries; how, for instance, the Dutch poached patterns from the Chinese and then undercut their prices to hijack the European tableware market.
The website is as sumptuously elegant as the collections it portrays and can be accessed directly or through the Nord-Pas-de-Calais tourist website. The site allows virtual visitors to inspect each individual piece and its provenance.
To provide real as well as virtual access, a new study area has been built in the museum, where the archive can be seen by appointment. There is also a temporary exhibition space, new education rooms and an arts centre. Before the refurbishment, education was not one of the museum's strengths, Bourel admits.
The Hôtel Sandelin, which was confiscated from the Fruges family during the French Revolution before being returned in 1808, was bought by Saint-Omer in 1899 to be opened as a museum in 1904.
It was this anniversary, as well as a steady increase in visitor numbers (from 8,318 in 1982 to 15,679 in 1992) and the fact that the departmental capital of Lille was the European Capital of Culture in 2004, that provided the impetus in 1997 for the refurbishment.
Once a facelift had been agreed on, the museum, using the architect Petr Opelik and the museum designer Frédérique Paoletti, decided on a total revamp.
The renovation included redesigning the disabled access in conjunction with other organisations in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, which have worked with disabled pressure groups to link access between cultural sites, hotels and restaurants and the area's wildlife park.
When Saint-Omer bought the Sandelin, the original collection was based on the countess's own art and domestic ware. The ground floor is now set out as a series of domestic rooms from the 18th century and reflects her lifestyle.
This allows some of the ceramics to be displayed as they would have been used. The Sandelin also inherited religious artefacts from the seventh-century monastery of Saint-Bertin, whose ruins dominate the lower edge of the town.
The refurbishment cost €5.1m, with money coming from the French state, the Nord-Pas-de-Calais Regional Council and the Saint-Omer Communaute d'Agglomeration and the city council, which were motivated by the needs of the thriving tourist industry. Its success is certain to attract interest from other ceramics museums.
The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent mostly displays locally made ceramics; a tiny handful of related pieces from nearby areas can also be seen. But the museum has a large archive that contains pieces from around the world, including the US, where a ceramics industry developed using Stoke methods.
Ian Lawley, the head of museums at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, and Andrew Watts, his ceramics expert, are currently discussing how best to reorganise their collection. 'Civic pride used to dictate that we only displayed works from our local potteries,' Watts says.
He is interested in the sort of storytelling the Sandelin uses to link ceramics with economic and social history. He wants to see methods of production explained and explore how pottery-making moved between continents.
'Stoke was always derivative,' Watts continues. 'For centuries, methods were dictated by the Chinese. Only in the 19th century did Stoke become an industry leader.' He feels, as Bourel does, that telling stories helps make these huge collections accessible.
Anne McHardy is a freelance journalist
m3.dnsalias.com/sandelin/
Contemplating the website that has resulted from the refurbishment intensifies his excitement. Bourel's driving aim was to make his collections more exciting to the public and to experts. In the eight years the refurbishment has taken, work has included restoration of the Sandelin's three collections.
The ceramics collection is one of the largest in France and has a wider international significance, but there is also fine art, plus local artefacts and religious art.
The elegant, 18th-century facade of the Sandelin, built in 1777 by the Countess of Fruges as a townhouse, has also had a facelift.
The first task for the staff was housekeeping, which involved a complete inventory of the museum's stock, with an assessment of what repairs were needed.
A decision was taken early on to digitise the inventory and as a result the museum was able to develop a website, on which most of the three collections are now displayed. Once the objects were catalogued, two parallel projects began: the restoration, and the planning of new displays.
The ceramics collection had previously been displayed chronologically in floor-to-ceiling cabinets. 'I used to see people coming in through those doors,' Bourel says, standing in the largest of the seven first-floor ceramics rooms, 'and their eyes would just glaze over. They would look at the shelves upon shelves and they would walk out in minutes. I wanted them to stay.'
These displays have been replaced by state-of-the-art cabinets (Bourel is particularly proud of the neatness of the concealed mounts), which are lit by a combination of natural and artificial lighting.
The aim of the revamped display is to show the interrelationships between far eastern ceramics and Europe, the relationships with the Middle East, and the growth of the ceramics industry in Delft and elsewhere in Europe.
Small rooms focus on the development between the far east and Holland, while the larger rooms explain different production methods. Most European manufacturing centres are represented, including Stoke-on-Trent in the UK.
The debate about the Sandelin's refurbishment is one that is repeated in museums everywhere, not least at Stoke-on-Trent's Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, which has an internationally important ceramics archive and where a refurbishment is also planned.
The discussion in Saint-Omer centred on whether international or more parochial interests should predominate, with the decision often coming down on the side of the wider view. The local story continues to be told, partly through links into the museum's other collections.
Saint-Omer, situated to the north of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, is geographically close to Delft and French ceramics centres such as Lille, Desvres and Rouen. It also had trade links with the Americas.
The new displays in the Sandelin are organised so that the pieces, particularly the spectacular ones, catch the eye. Light and colour are used to move attention from object to object.
Wall-mounted information panels explain how particular styles are made and also how designs and methods were translated between countries; how, for instance, the Dutch poached patterns from the Chinese and then undercut their prices to hijack the European tableware market.
The website is as sumptuously elegant as the collections it portrays and can be accessed directly or through the Nord-Pas-de-Calais tourist website. The site allows virtual visitors to inspect each individual piece and its provenance.
To provide real as well as virtual access, a new study area has been built in the museum, where the archive can be seen by appointment. There is also a temporary exhibition space, new education rooms and an arts centre. Before the refurbishment, education was not one of the museum's strengths, Bourel admits.
The Hôtel Sandelin, which was confiscated from the Fruges family during the French Revolution before being returned in 1808, was bought by Saint-Omer in 1899 to be opened as a museum in 1904.
It was this anniversary, as well as a steady increase in visitor numbers (from 8,318 in 1982 to 15,679 in 1992) and the fact that the departmental capital of Lille was the European Capital of Culture in 2004, that provided the impetus in 1997 for the refurbishment.
Once a facelift had been agreed on, the museum, using the architect Petr Opelik and the museum designer Frédérique Paoletti, decided on a total revamp.
The renovation included redesigning the disabled access in conjunction with other organisations in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, which have worked with disabled pressure groups to link access between cultural sites, hotels and restaurants and the area's wildlife park.
When Saint-Omer bought the Sandelin, the original collection was based on the countess's own art and domestic ware. The ground floor is now set out as a series of domestic rooms from the 18th century and reflects her lifestyle.
This allows some of the ceramics to be displayed as they would have been used. The Sandelin also inherited religious artefacts from the seventh-century monastery of Saint-Bertin, whose ruins dominate the lower edge of the town.
The refurbishment cost €5.1m, with money coming from the French state, the Nord-Pas-de-Calais Regional Council and the Saint-Omer Communaute d'Agglomeration and the city council, which were motivated by the needs of the thriving tourist industry. Its success is certain to attract interest from other ceramics museums.
The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent mostly displays locally made ceramics; a tiny handful of related pieces from nearby areas can also be seen. But the museum has a large archive that contains pieces from around the world, including the US, where a ceramics industry developed using Stoke methods.
Ian Lawley, the head of museums at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, and Andrew Watts, his ceramics expert, are currently discussing how best to reorganise their collection. 'Civic pride used to dictate that we only displayed works from our local potteries,' Watts says.
He is interested in the sort of storytelling the Sandelin uses to link ceramics with economic and social history. He wants to see methods of production explained and explore how pottery-making moved between continents.
'Stoke was always derivative,' Watts continues. 'For centuries, methods were dictated by the Chinese. Only in the 19th century did Stoke become an industry leader.' He feels, as Bourel does, that telling stories helps make these huge collections accessible.
Anne McHardy is a freelance journalist
m3.dnsalias.com/sandelin/
