FIRST PASSION: PHOTOGRAPHY
Having a passion for photography and the diverse architectural aspects of the city of Bordeaux, I conducted a complete survey from 1987 to 1990 on the knockers of Bordeaux, as being an important part (of the architectural landscape) considering the quality and quantity of our city's ironworks.
So as to commemorate the bicentennial of the Wrought hon Craftsmen from May 8th to May 20th 1991, I was contacted by the Duty Companions Centre of the city of Bordeaux in order to take part in the execution of an exhibition of photographs illustrating the knockers of Bordeaux.
Since then, many photographs adorn the Room of Masterpieces of the Duty Companions Centre, at 76 Laroche Street, Bordeaux.
Bordeaux being specially selected by the UNESCO, I hope the various local councils of the city and of the administrative region will finance the whole event, which represents many years of work, and will be able to present it in several European cities so as to promo te a part of the architectural heritage.
Moreover, in order to give more chance ta the realisation of this exhibition, l will get in touch with many castels of the Bordeaux region, which make our city and its area famous.
The expenditures will be charged on the patronage, thus implying a tax cut for each sponsor / trading partner.
THE KNOCKERS
I have met and passed by them more than a thousand times without really noticing them,
Flight of a look in a hurry, directed towards many other things.
Nonetheless, one day, through one lens,
A mere shot in passing,
It suddenly clicked.
Ordinary objects from the past, they are here, close to us,
Playing with the fugitive shades of these summer days.
Long lonesome roving searching the rare object.
Mysterious attraction in which elegance and delicacy merge.
Some are like Chameleons, swaddledin a gown of paint,
Searching for an identity that vanishes through the flashy colours of the present time.
Others, more fragile, between two visits, Disappear in the shadows of the night.
On the undressed doors the features of a sudden void are outlined,
Beauty of an age, sorrow of a future where photographs won't substitute
The relief of the departed knockers.
Pleasure of the sight,
Soft sensation to the touch,
Companion of a summer, for the jiffy of a click.
Jean-Pierre Ganelon
Almost all books about the town of Bordeaux mention the presence of antique heurtoirs (knockers) on the doors, their excellence, and their proliferation. At the end of the 19th century, owners of mansions, although enthusiastic about modern doorbells, were still very much attached to their knockers. They had their servants remove them every night from the door and put them up again every morning. Thus, they were able to display the knockers on the carriage entrance without risk of theft.
The hand-crafted luxury of every single object - like a pendant or other piece of fine jewelry - is still considered a significant privilege to own and has become a symbol of our city. The advertising industry frequently uses this graphic as a sign of elegance and as an evocative example of heritage and tradition. Unfortunately, a significant number of knockers were already lost to second hand markets before action was taken to salvage this bit of history in the nineties. Luckily, there was an inventory of photographs, and a historic survey was finally conducted on their behalf. Neglected for far too long, many of the knockers show evident signs of profound deterioration as a result of oxidation.
As a matter of fact, it would be impossible to replace the missing knockers with new ones of comparable quality. The art of the yesterday's skilled iron working masters - beating the metal bars over and over with a hammer, crafting with punch and anvil, cutting out the metal leaf, then polishing and re-polishing the finished work to enhance its silver facets - is no longer practiced these days. The process is too hard and too expensive in time and effort, while cast iron at reduced cost was already recommended by Réaumur in the 18th century.
Knockers or hammers, fixed from the inside onto the surface of the door and utilized to make oneself heard from the doorstep, initially represented rare and luxurious objects first associated with heavy medieval church doors, and then with royal residences of the Second Renaissance. In Bordeaux, they are usually placed at eye level. The general economic affluence of the 17th century contributed to their huge popularity, whereas, in the 18th century, reputed to be its golden age, Bordeaux sacrificed itself widely to fashion.
The heurtoir is made of two parts: the back plate, which is cut and pierced to produce a background motif of the Regency, Louis XV or neo-classical style upon the wooden support. The object once removed may leave its trace for many years to come. The second part, the actual knocker or «Rosette» is the part by which the plate is hit and therefore is articulated. According to the period or the social affectations, its size or shape can be different: there are pendants, rounded loops or so-called satchels. But frog's legs, dolphins, rings or the shape of a hand are commonly used, too.
This oeuvre d'art inserts itself comfortably in the apparent richness of the wrought ironwork of the façade, but also by implication in the sumptuousness of the staircases and its balustrades of the interior. It also is the ostentatious reminder of respect to protocol and etiquette, these rules of «savoir-vivre» imposed upon people of a certain social standing.
Marie-France Lacoue-Labarthe
Décember 2008
Other articles of the author relating to the subject :
- Heurtoirs de Bordeaux, Princi Neguer Editor, 2000.
- L'Art du fer forgé en pays bordelais de Louis XIV à la Révolution, réédition revue et corrigée, Bordeaux, Société archéologique de Bordeaux (1 place Bardineau, 33000 Bordeaux), 2003.
- Meubles bordelais, meubles de port, Société archéologique de Bordeaux, 1996.
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