Paris - Musée de Cluny

The Hôtel de Cluny was built in the late 15th century on the site of an older building constructed after the Abbey of Cluny acquired the ancient Roman baths in 1340.

The manor house was rebuilt under Jacques d’Amboise, Abbot Commander of Cluny (1485–1510). In the 18th century, the tower of the Hôtel de Cluny served as an observatory for the astronomers Joseph-Nicolas Delisle, Jérôme Lalande, and Charles Messier. During the French Revolution in 1789, the manor house was confiscated.

In 1832, the archaeologist and art collector Alexandre Du Sommerard acquired the Hôtel de Cluny and used it to display his extensive collection of medieval artifacts. After his death, the collection became the property of the French state. The building opened as a museum in 1843.

The museum underwent a complete renovation over three years and reopened in 2022.


Reliquary
Prophets and Saints
Cologne, about 1200


Workshops in Cologne had specialised in the manufacture of reliquaries decorated with sculpture plaques from bovine bone as an inexpensive substitute for ivory.