A new “Hall of Fames”

The porch leading to the Musée des Arts Forains entrance now bears a name: Le Salon des Renommées (the Hall of Fames)

This name is a direct reference to two imposing allegorical sculptures ornamenting the porch. The pair comes from a Caterpillar ride front from the 1900 that belonged to the Lapp family.

Fames (Renommées in French) are allegorical figures of winged women, generally holding trumpets in reference to a greek goddess serving as a messenger to Zeus.

Although our fames aren’t equipped with trumpets, they had an important messenger role!

They were acquired by the museum in 2011 and were originally designed by Alexandre Devos (Belgium) to hold wooden flower crowns. In place of the flower hearts, light bulbs would ornate the crowns, enlightening the carousel façade.

Back in 1900, electricity was a brand new technology that most discovered on fairgrounds.

Hence, by their size and provenance, our fames’ function was to announce the fair and be seen from afar.

Their main role is now to welcome your guests and transport them into the setting of a 1900 funfair.

Published on 10.10.17