The Minister of Culture, Bénédicte Linard, emphasized the importance of preserving valuable assets such as works of art, manuscripts, and fossils for the benefit of future generations. She initiated the recognition of heritage, which highlights the significance of movable and intangible heritage as part of our shared history.
The Royal Museum of Mariemont has made three items from Raoul Warocqué’s collection available to the public. These include the autograph manuscript “La Légende d’Uylenspiegel” by Charles De Coster, a wine jar with aquatic decoration from the Ming dynasty, the bust of Queen Berenice II, and 5,554 autographs. These new acquisitions have established the Hainaut museum as one of Belgium’s leading holders of cultural treasures.
The abbey of Maredsous has also inherited movable heritage, including black marble fossils from Denée and a breviary from the abbey of Saint-Adrien de Grammont. Meanwhile, the Les Bateliers museum has restored and displayed the pair of stilts from the Compagnie des Mélans, classified as a treasure since November 23, 2022.
“Work of art, precious manuscript, fossils, each of these assets is precious and should be preserved, particularly for the benefit of future generations. Our heritage, whether movable or intangible, is part of our common history” , underlined the Minister of Culture Bénédicte Linard, at the initiative of the recognition.
The Royal Museum of Mariemont now offers the public three properties from the collection of Raoul Warocqué who wanted to reconstruct world culture in the 19-20th century. These are the autograph manuscript “La Légende d’Uylenspiegel” by Charles De Coster, the wine jar with aquatic decoration from the Ming dynasty, the bust of Queen Berenice II and no less than 5,554 autographs from the collection of Raoul Warocque. These new acquisitions make the Hainaut museum one of the great holders of cultural treasures in Belgium.
The abbey of Maredsous also inherited goods attached to the movable heritage. The Namur institution acquired the set of black marble fossils from Denée as well as the breviary from the abbey of Saint-Adrien de Grammont. As for the pair of stilts from the Compagnie des Mélans, which have just been restored, they can be seen at the Les Bateliers museum. It has been classified as a treasure since November 23, 2022.
As we conclude this article, it is clear that the preservation of our heritage remains a crucial task that must not go unnoticed. The recent acquisitions by the Royal Museum of Mariemont and the abbey of Maredsous are prime examples of how cultural treasures can be safeguarded for future generations to enjoy. It is evident that these institutions recognize the importance of preserving our history and we hope that more will follow in their footsteps. After all, our heritage is part of our identity and it deserves to be cherished and protected.
