La conquête scientifique de la Tunisie : l’antagonisme des pratiques patrimoniales

The Scientific Conquest of Tunisia : Conflicting Patrimonial Practices The scientific conquest of Tunisia began in the early 1880s following a decision of the French Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres (fine arts academy) and the ministère de l’Instruction Publique (ministry of education). An archeological campaign was launched with the intention of developing archeology in the countries of the Mediterranean Basin. Support for this project came from two newly created divisions of the ministère de l’Instruction Publique, the Service des voyages et des missions scientifiques et littéraires and the Division des sciences et lettres. An official of the Ministry, Xavier Charmes, created the Mission de Tunisie and sent René du Coudray de La Blanchère as a delegate from this organization to work on the inventory and preservation of the Tunisian heritage. With some difficulty, La Blanchère established the Service des antiquités et des arts. His approach was unorthodox. He tried to combine the model set by the Académie with that of the Service des Monuments historiques. Responding to the specific context of Tunisia, he did not limit his interest to ancient monuments, but recognized the importance of the Arab and Turkish heritage as well. Firmly opposed to this view, Xavier Charmes managed to restrict his delegate’s task to the sole preservation of the ancient heritage, thereby avoiding an intrusion from the Service des Monuments historiques in the missions sponsored by the Institut. La Blanchère complied and from then on strictly adhered to the practices of the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres. He later founded the musée Alaoui in the Bardo.Bacha Myriam. La conquête scientifique de la Tunisie : l’antagonisme des pratiques patrimoniales. In: Histoire de l'art, N°59, 2006. Nouvelles approches en architecture. pp. 75-84