Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Tailored Space Museum of Malicorn was inaugurated on 31 August 2001, after a local mobilization initiated in the 1980s to preserve the ceramic heritage of Malicorn. The project, supported by the President of the General Council and local elected representatives, aimed to create national museum equipment. The chosen site, emblematic, perpetuates the tradition of earthenware and sandstone of Malicorn, active since the 18th century.

The museum, installed in a former factory of pottery and varnished sandstone (l-Usine Chardon, active from 1883 to 1969), is a resource center dedicated to ceramics. It presents a museum path of more than 2,000 m2, tracing history and local production techniques. The collections include utility sandstones, earthenware from the 18th to the 21st century, production tools and archives, illustrating the evolution of the Malian workshops.

The museum is based on preserved industrial remains, including the 19th-century overturned flame furnaces, studied by Mérimée Conseil and the architects Bapst & Pantz. It highlights the memory of the place while offering thematic and chronological exhibitions. Its role is both cultural, touristic and educational, rooted in the region's artisanal identity.

The labeled Musée de France, it is part of an approach to enhancing industrial and artisanal heritage. The location in Malicorn-sur-Sarthe, Pays de la Loire, makes it a key place to understand the history of French ceramics, while offering an immersive experience thanks to scenes and demonstrations of the manufacturing stages.

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