Collections / Collection
Collections in the plural, Collection in the singular: this is the title of the museum’s inaugural exhibition.
In this cabinet of curiosities, we show you how, since 2019, the collections of Hélène Costa, originally from Grasse, and Magali Pascal, from Arles, have been brought into dialogue.
For the collector, a collectible object is above all a true quest. Once acquired, it joins a set of objects that gradually expands. Each new piece sheds light on and enriches the collector’s vision or study of the subject.
Hélène Costa and Magali Pascal did not intend to randomly accumulate objects. Their true goal was to understand and study fashion phenomena and the visible aesthetic changes embodied by the women of the region.
Take the time to observe each display case. The numbers they carry refer you to the wall panel and corresponding captions.
In display case number 3, you can admire the portrait of a young woman from Arles, painted around 1818 by Michel Philibert Genod. This work, part of Hélène Costa’s private collection, stirred deep emotion in Magali Pascal. She studied it and chose to use it as the cover image for the second volume of her trilogy on the history of Arles costumes, available in the museum shop.
In this portrait, the young woman wears around her neck a jewel emblematic of Arles fashion since the 18th century: the so-called “Maltese Cross.” You will find it again in display case number 9, worn by another young woman from Arles, painted in her wedding attire from the same period. Just below, you can see a pair of round earrings called poissardes, as well as a typically local bracelet known as a coulas.
Moving toward the back of the room, you will discover, in a recess, a French-style silk gown in yellow. Exceptional for its decoration, it bears a handwritten note inside dating it to 1789. It thus appears as one of the last testimonies of aristocratic fashion under the Ancien Régime.
Pay attention also to the small display in the corridor: there you will see a bride from Arles from the early 1900s. Pause for a moment… Silence… Action!