Hotel Sandelin Museum

A magnificient town house, converted to a splendid up-to-date museum

     Built  in  the  style  of  Louis XV   in  1776-1777,  with  a  courtyard  in  front  and a garden behind, in the fashion  of the time  for Marie-Josèphe Sandelin, Countess of Fruges. With its paved courtyard and elaborate wrought iron gate it is referred to by the  locals  as  "the little Louvre". Three  adjoining  rooms  on  the  ground  floor  look out  at  the garden. These  are  furnished  "salons"  whose  wood  panelling is listed  among   "Les  Monuments  Historiques".   The   collections   are   presented   in   21 exhibition rooms, based on three themes :

• History tour:

     The medieval past is particularly rich.

     The   basement,  organised  as  exhibition   space,  where  are  shown   objects  found  in  archeological  digs  or  presented  to  the museum (as  scale  models of buildings) shows  the  richness  of  the  arts  in the  Flanders and the Artois  in the  12th  and  the  15th centuries. On the  ground  floor, religious objects of arts from  the  Abbey of  Saint  Bertin  and  other  churches  of  the  region  demonstrate the diversity   of   technical   skills  used   for   goldsmith  work   (foot  of  a Cross  from  Saint-Bertin)  sculptures in wood (The virginof Merck-Saint Liévin),  alabaster  and  tapestries.

     The  first  floor  evokes  the  daily life  of the time : town scenes,  seals,  coinage and importantly   the  famous  clay  pipes  manufactured  in   Saint-Omer,   by   the Audomarois Duméril-Leurs et Fiolet..

• Fine-Arts tour:

     Masterpieces  of  European  paintings  of  the  16th,  17th  and  18th  centuries European  painters  are  displayed  in period rooms, reception rooms and cabinets of curiousities. A feeling of the time, heart  of a  private  mansion, as it was lived in, is  not  often   recreated  in  other  museums.  The  "Cutting  out  of  the  Stone  of Stupidity"  by   Pieter   Breughel   and   "La Ribaude"  by Jan Steen are  hung  with  Flemish furniture  (cabinets in ebony and tortoise shell)  in  rooms  retaining   their original  panelling..

• Ceramics tour:

     The  museum  possesses one the finest French public collections of ceramics.  All  the  European  manufactures  of the 17th and 18th centuries are represented by  examples  of  faïence and porcelain : Delft, Rouen, Nevers, Lille, Saint-Amand, Saint-Omer and Sinceny.

      The  presentation  of some  4000 pieces  seeks  to  emphasise particularly the influences  exchanged  between  West  and  East  (China  and  Japan).  It  was  in wishing  to  imitate  oriental  porcelains  that the European manufacturers  refined their means of production and evolved their decorative patterns....