Deux pieds, quatre sabots. Collecter le présent à l’écomusée du Perche

Abstract

Two feet, four hooves, collecting the present at the Perche écomusée. Deux pieds, quatre sabots (two feet, four hooves) is the title of a book resulting from an ethnological investigation and a photographic reportage by Christian Malon, published to coincide with an exhibition put on in 2014 by the Perche ecomuseum. It presents photographs, objects and texts which seek to question the company between men and different races of Normandy draft horses, in the Perch region, at the beginning of the twenty-first century. It is a piece of work that documents a remarkable change witnessed during this period in which the horse is making a comeback in urban spaces and for new uses, symbolising the quest for a new equilibrium between man and nature. Sustainable development has encouraged and diversified the use of Percheron and Cob horses. These new uses are accompanied by a new awareness of the difficulty of the work for men and of the animal’s well-being. This very contemporary observation throws new light on the museum’s collection, showing up permanent and novel features in this realm of the draft horse. But are the museum curator’s usual processes for collecting and displaying objects appropriate for these new realities?

Keywords

• Basse-Normandie
• draft horse
• ethnological museum
• intangible heritage
• Perche