The Wallonia-Brussels Federation (FWB) on Tuesday recognised seven new historical artefacts as items of cultural heritage. This status grants certain privileges, including better protections and restoration funds, on the proviso that they do not leave Belgium.
Some of the new items belong in the Royal Museum of Mariemont, the Abbey of Maredsous, and the Les Bateliers archaeology centre in Namur.
“Works of art, precious manuscripts, fossils: each of these assets is precious and should be preserved for the benefit of future generations. Our heritage, whether movable or intangible, is part of our common history,” said FWB Minister of Culture Bénédicte Linard.
The Royal Museum of Mariemont, near Morlanwelz in the province of Hainaut, has three cultural artefacts on display to the public from the collection of Raoul Warocqué, a 19th century Walloon industrialist and politician.
This includes a signed manuscript of “La Légende d’Uylenspiegel” by Charles de Coster, a Ming dynasty wine jar, a bust of Queen Berenice II, and no less than 5,554 autographs. This makes the museum one of the largest collections of cultural artefacts in Belgium.
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The Abbey of Maredsous, a Benedictine monastery in the municipality of Anhée (province of Namur), has also inherited goods which have gained the status of items of movable cultural heritage. The institution possesses a set of black marble fossils from the nearby village of Denée, as well as the breviary (liturgical prayer books) from the Abbey of Saint-Adrien de Grammont.
Recently, a pair of stilts belonging to the Compagnie des Mélans, a historical stilt walkers group who used to compete in jousting matches, has been restored to the status of an item of Belgian cultural heritage. They were first classified as an item of cultural heritage on 23 November 2022 and will now return to display at Les Bateliers museum.
