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The Brigitte of Ménez-Hom, also called the Goddess of Ménez-Hom, is the name given by archaeologists to a bronze statue discovered in 1913 in Dinéault, a commune in Finistère in western France. Dated to the second half of the first century CE, it is considered to be the oldest representation of a woman from Brittany. It was discovered by chance by a farmer Jean Labat while ploughing his field. The sculpture measures about 70 cm (28 in) in height and is made from a ternary alloy of copper.

Initially kept by Labat, the statue was later exchanged with D Antoine Vourc'h . When the latter died, his daughter, who had inherited it, wanted to give it to a German priest who intended to sell it to help orphans in Chile. Finally, with the help of a support committee, the departure of the statue to South America was prevented and the object was acquired by the Brittany Museum in Rennes in 1972.

Professor of ancient history Gérard Moitrieux believes that the composition is similar to the figures of Minerva which were frequent in Gaul. However, Brest based archaeologist, historian and lecturer René Sanquer, who studied the statue, believes that it is a different from Minerva from Greco-Roman mythology, and identified her rather with the goddess Brigit found in Irish texts from the early Middle Ages and with Brigantia in Roman Britain.


History

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The statue was discovered in mai 1913 by Jean Labat, a farmer living in the hamlet of Kerguilly in Dinéault [1], aged 17 ans [2] . It was during a deep plowing at the Gorré-ar-C'hoad moor (in français : ) which would never have been cultivated that Labat passes his plow over a metal object [1] . The latter turns out to be a bronze head wearing a helmet topped with a representation of a bird, 23 centimètres high [2], and in very good condition [1] . The head is scratched at the tip of the nose and under the left eye, probably by the ploughshare [1] . He takes it back to his parents' farm where it ends up being put away in a drawer [2] . Fifteen years later, in 1928, Jean Labat decided to search for the rest of the statue [2] . He discovered the female body in bronze in a cylindrical cavity, 50  wide and one meter deep, dug in the clay and covered by a clay pancake [1] . At this time, the statue was in very poor condition [3] . In fact, the hammered bronze sheet which constitutes the body is very susceptible to corrosion [1] . However, the other cast bronze pieces covered with a dark green patina are intact [1] . No one then realized the importance of this discovery [3] . Labat keeps it before using it as a bargaining chip for a few family consultations with the doctor in Plomodiern, D Antoine Vourc'h, circa 1935 [4] . The object was buried again during the Second World War in order to escape the Germans and was exhumed around 1945 [1] . But being buried degrades the bronze sheet body which cannot be preserved [3] .

On the death of D Vourc'h, his daughter, M Robain, inherited the large statuette [5] . She donated it to the priest André Schloesser [5] , Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content , of German nationality [3], who wanted to finance a social promotion institute for orphans in Chile, wanting to sell it at auction in order to get the best price [5] . In 1971, when it was about to be transported to South America, the archaeologist, historian and lecturer from Brest, René Sanquer, learned of its existence and considered that it was an inestimable treasure probably dating from the second half of the I century AD [2] , [3] . The statue is then considered to be the oldest representation of a woman in Brittany [2] . With a support committee, Sanquer managed to prevent the object from leaving [2] . This was acquired by the Brittany Museum in Rennes [2] in 1972 [3], with the help of the municipality and the support of Henri Fréville . In an article ' Armor Magazine published in décembre 1972, a journalist wonders if it is not « It is not scandalous that the chance of a pious encounter followed by rather sordid manoeuvres could […] have run the risk of losing what should belong to all Bretons ", wishing for the adoption of legislative texts which would protect archaeological remains .

Place of discovery

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The sculpture was discovered in a moorland called Gorré-ar-C'hoad, located in the hamlet of Kerguilly in Dinéault [1] . This commune is located on the north-eastern slope of Ménez Hom and extends to its summit [1] . The Ménez Hom is a mountain culminating at 329  , approximately 6  from the sea [6] . While Menez means " mountain "in Breton, the etymology of Hom is uncertain, even if some see a link with Saint Côme [1] . There is no trace of Roman occupation there, but three underground shelters indicate activity from the Gallic era [1] . However, at the foot of Ménez Hom, towards the southwest, the country of Porzay, of which Dinéault is not part, was the seat during Antiquity of an important industry of garum and salted meats, with numerous Roman remains including three Celto-Roman temples [1] .

Description

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The statue measures approximately 70  [1] . According to René Sanquer, the fine head, which is on a gracefully flared and natural neck, is that of an adolescent girl of about fifteen years old, even if some opinions declare that it is a young warrior or the « Knight of the Swan » [1] . The mouth falls slightly at the corners, seeming to give according to Sanquer « an expression of melancholy » in the face [1] . This one is oval in shape, with a round, fleshy chin, slightly defined cheekbones, and full, smooth cheeks [1] . The forehead is low and receding [1] . The nose, which was damaged by Jean Labat's plow, is regular and in the shape of a three-sided pyramid [1] . The eyes, which were probably made of glass paste, are missing. : the archaeologist assumes that they remained at the bottom of the hiding place or that they were thrown at the time of the discovery of the statue [1] . The ears do not have the same anatomical accuracy as the nose, chin or mouth, being reduced « to a double spiral line enclosing a pearl ", with lower and upper lobes of the same size [1] . The hairstyle was done with great care by the artist, with strands well isolated from each other on which the indication of the hair was added with a chisel in a linear style [1] .

The limbs are disproportionate to the head. Thus, the upper limbs and feet are too small while the right arm is stronger than the left [1] . The right arm, 12,4  long, is bent at a right angle and the hand appears to be closed around a cylindrical object [1] . The left arm, half stretched downwards, measures 15,8  and the half-open hand probably held a coat rack of which no trace remains [1] . The fingers of the hands, thin and long with nails, are reproduced exactly [1] . The feet, 7,5  long for the right and 7,3  for the left, wear a shoe with a thick, flat sole [1] . While the left foot is placed flat, supporting the weight of the statue, the right foot is half-flexed, indicating a slight swaying of the body [1] .

The helmet consists of a bomb, a crest (on which a feather crest was probably fixed with wax) and a crest holder [1] . A face is drawn on the bell-shaped bomb with flared edges, evoking Athena's owl [1] . A bird, which could be a goose or a swan, serves as the crest-bearer [1] . The artist depicted him preparing to fly away, « neck stretched but still flexible, wings straightened and tight, not yet deployed » [1] . According to ornithologists who observed the statue, it is believed to be a wild swan, the goose's neck being shorter [1] . The crest is of the bifid and long type, ending at one end with three small balls, one of which is missing [1] . The various elements making up the helmet were probably held together by a vertical pin [1] .

Manufacturing technique

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The craftsman used the hollow casting technique to make the statue ; fragments of cores were thus preserved inside the arms and the bird [1] . There is no trace of welding at the joints, even if a bronze sheet at the head was nevertheless probably used to repair a defect in execution during demolding [1] . Recessed grooves are used to allow the arms to fit into the shoulders as well as at the base of the neck [1] . The artist used iron- rich foundry sand [1] . The head, helmet, arms and shoes are made of a ternary alloy, with approximately 75 % copper, 13 % tin and 8 % lead [1] .

References

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  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34 1.35 1.36 1.37 1.38 1.39 Sanquer 1973.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 de Broc 2019.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Christian Gouerou (13/01/2019). "À Dinéault, Brigitte sous le soc de la charrue". Ouest-France (in French). Retrieved 04/01/2021. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |access-date= and |date= (help).
  4. ↑ "« Brigitte » : les souvenirs de Jean-Yves Labat". Le Télégramme (in French). 24/04/2004. Retrieved 04/01/2021. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |access-date= and |date= (help).
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Brigitte, petite statue gallo-romaine, a connu bien des aventures depuis sa création vers le Ier siècle après Jésus-Christ". Le Télégramme (in French). 23 juin 2004. Retrieved 24/02/2021. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |access-date= and |date= (help).
  6. ↑ Mikael Bodlore-Penlaez (2011). Atlas de Bretagne. Coop Breizh. p. 34-35. ISBN 978-2-84346-495-9. {{cite book}}: More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help).

Bibliography

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