One exhibition, one day each month, thirty minutes, one gesture from the Loire!
This year, the museum's activities will give a voice to the "gestures of the Loire" and put people back at the heart of the river. Month after month, the spotlight will be on a singular verb, an action, its actor and its tools... This month, mooring a boat in front of this river anchor.
It's no coincidence that if we had to choose just one symbol for the boat-owning community, the anchor would inevitably be the first choice! So it's a natural fit for bargemen to place it on the lintels of houses and chimneys, on roof weathervanes, or to wear it proudly as a pendant or earring... It has to be said that the anchor is THE link that binds people on the water to the land, slowing the boat down during manoeuvres, making it safe and holding it to the shore. It therefore has a strong symbolism of attachment and security, which is why Christianity has from the outset made it an allegory of fidelity, faith and hope, found in the catacombs from a very early date.
Beyond the symbolism, the river anchor is clearly different from the mass anchors used on sea-going vessels. It has two rings and a perpendicular groove, for example, and takes on different shapes depending on its use: a manoeuvring anchor, a mooring anchor, a shore anchor or a foreshore anchor. Above all, they are handled by hand, sometimes with precision to make navigation easier, making them an essential tool on board. Would you like to find out more and unravel the mystery of the river anchor? Welcome aboard, we'll tell you all about it!
The Musée de la Loire invites you to take a little cultural and historical break at lunchtime, before or after your sandwich, your lunch, to digest or whet your appetite... join us as we plunge into the heart of the indefectible links that have united, and still unite, Man and the river!
