The Toulon shipyard’s bell
Toulon
General founder
Jean Baubé (around 1600-1681)
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Enlarge image : A large, antique bell with a green patina and a crown-like decoration
The Toulon shipyard’s bell © Janis Brossard -
Enlarge image : View of the handles shaped like female figures
Detail of the crown of The Toulon shipyard’s bell © Janis Brossard
It was in order to “mark with vigilance the hours of manual work” carried out in the shipyard that this massive bronze bell was cast at Toulon’s Naval Foundry in 1672.
A true objet d’art
Enlarge image : cloche_1.jpg
its “crown” is composed of six handles shaped like female figures, sorts of Winged Victories inspired by Antiquity. Each of them carries a banner inscribed with a Latin word. Together, the words read “Ave Maria Gratia Plena Dominus Tecum” (Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you).
Just under the crown, the bell bears a two-line dedication in Latin, which translates as “To Louis XIV, ever august, ever and everywhere victorious. Through the efforts of Louis Matharel, Intendant of the King’s Weaponry. It was cast with the greatest care to mark the hours of naval work. The Year of Our Lord’s Salvation 1672. Baubé cast it in Toulon.” »
These lines to the glory of the King and the bell’s sponsor and caster are inscribed above a medallion, a bas-relief depicting Louis XIV as a personified sun. The sovereign’s portrait beneath it was hammered out during the French Revolution.
Hung in the clock tower at the entrance to the shipyard, this bell sounded its working hours for almost 250 years, before being replaced by an electric siren in December 1918.
Collection highlight
The essential works to see during your visit to the Musée national de la Marine in Brest, Port-Louis, Rochefort, Toulon, and soon in Paris.