A visit to the Tolkien Tapestries in Paris (part I/II)

This is the last week that the Tolkien Tapestries (and carpets) as woven in Aubusson with the Cité internationale de la tapisserie can be viewed at the beautiful Collège des Bernardins in Paris. I can only highly recommend you use this chance if you can still make it. Here is my report.

[If you just feel like seeing loads of photos from Paris go here for part II/II! – this post is being prepared!]

You may remember that almost six years ago I was one of the few Tolkienists in the world – most certainly of those not of a French persuasion! – to visit Aubusson and participate in a tombée de metier. That is, I had the privilege to cut a few centimeters of the woven threads off the loom before the tapisserie was presented to the public. This whole project took essentially twelve years, from first contacts in 2012 to the final exhibition in Aubusson itself in 2024.

The day I was happy meeting three trolls: The Tolkien Tapestries at Aubusson

If you do not know this yet – Aubusson tapestry has been added to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO in 2009. That is, this particular craftsmanship is unique in this world.

Photo from Tolkien exhibition at Collège des Bernardins (c) Marcel R. Bülles – Denis Bridoux

And if you ever lay eyes on these sumptuous tapestries you will easily understand why. This is not something that can be rushed and there are not many people in this world that can actually do this kind of craftsmanship. Absolutely glorious in colours, textures, and if you ask independent scholar Denis Bridoux there are new sights to see and many new conclusions to be drawn thanks to these tapestries – see, for example, his Númenórean carpet event from Aubusson. [He has written extensively on this in recent years.]

My travel shenanigans I/II (see below)

One of my finest efforts this weekend was the assumption that I would be travelling more than 30 hours on the train to be able to visit Paris. The route was essentially Jena – Cologne – Paris – Cologne – Jena as I could not pay the prohibitively expensive ticket but used 4.000 of my Bahnbonus loyalty points to get a free 2nd class return ticket.

[Yes, those 4.000 points basically equal 4.000€ spent on train travels.
Please note that long distance relationships can do that to you!]

So after 9 hrs on the Friday from Jena to Cologne where I stayed with my parents – yes, I am a born and bred Colognian -, it took me another five hours to make it to Paris’ Gare de l’Est. Things went off without a hitch and I managed to get quite a bit of work done as my favourite work place is on a high speed train. [Preferrably in First Class but I can make do with Second.]

Photo from Tolkien exhibition at Collège des Bernardins (c) Marcel R. Bülles – Collège des Bernardins

Two apps and a ticket sale later I had everything to travel around the city without having to think about what ticket to get. To me the Métro is pretty easy to understand and the app is incredibly clear in its directions. You’d have to be a stuffed to the gills hobbit not to get them… which I was not on that day.

So my way to the Collége to Bernardins was quick and easy and I soon saw the lovely building after turning a corner. You can still feel the Cistercian touch of it – I am a huge fan of them -, and coming into the building with its vaulted ceiling makes for an immediate impression.

Arriving at the exhibition and my walk through

The tickets are free, you simply need to book them via the collège’s website. Mine was set for 12pm and I arrived at 11.30am with time to spare. A quick look at the bookshop revealed a number of excellent books on Tolkien (ignoring the one Day exhibit) and postcards to boot. Then I was finally allowed in.

Photo from Tolkien exhibition at Collège des Bernardins (c) Marcel R. Bülles – books from collectors

This is the first time that all of the tapestries were shown outside of Aubusson. I am sure the exhibition was a success – I will add numbers at a later point in time – as there were a lot of people having close looks at the exhibits. In addition to the tapestries themselves a number of books and letters from collectors such as Pieter Collier and René van Rossenberg were on display as well to provide more context to Tolkien’s life and works.

Because of the large number of exhibits not all of them could be put into the main hall but were placed in an additional room as well as five tapestries on the walls of a large staircase. Information was provided in French mostly on the type of plaques you may know from museums, placed beside the respective exhibit.

What did I think of it?

I am incredibly happy that the tapestries are now finally going on tour (Oxford has been mentioned, at least, but I do hope there will be more stops.) This kind of art and craftsmanship is one you really need to see in person to understand its achievements and what makes it so very special.

Photo from Tolkien exhibition at Collège des Bernardins (c) Marcel R. Bülles – tiny details

Due to the fact that the medium enlarges the incredibly small paintings and illustrations of Tolkien Bridoux and others quickly noted that the Professor had added so tiny details that they had escaped notice so far – and only thanks to the preparations of the weavers in Aubusson did this become clear. Do walk up to any of these huge tapestries and you’ll see things you would never have imagined!

To see all of them in their glory is amazing and I can only highly recommend you visit them wherever you can.

Add to that that an impressive array of talks, lectures, and for the final weekend a conference with some of the best Tolkien scholars out there and you will see that this has been a worthwhile venture – and the exhibition was available for free! Excellent.

Having said this, I am very biased when it comes to Tolkien exhibitions as we have not only seen major ones in recent years – the one at the French National Library really blew everyone’s mind – but I also used to be married for many years to a leading German museologist. I have seen many, many museums in quite a few countries, I have an idea of how exhibitions can work or should work, and the Collège des Bernardins may be beautiful but it was woefully inadequate to present these tapestries and carpets.

Photo from Tolkien exhibition at Collège des Bernardins (c) Marcel R. Bülles – wedged inbetween doors this tapestry cannot shine as it should

There was simply not enough space to present them fully and appropriately. See the photo below for the staircase I mentioned above – it is sad to see that such beauty and craftsmanship does not get the treatment it deserves. Simply imagine an ‘old school’ museum like the Altes Museum in Berlin where you would have four rooms with four exhibits each, including additional material in a fifth.

Or simply visit the Cité internationale de la tapisserie in Aubusson! That is a purpose-built exhibition and experience space (2016) able to highlight both the craftsmanship as well as the art. I have been there and I can tell you that it is perfectly glorious as a specialist museum. Architectural firm Terreneuve really outdid itself – have a look at their press kit to get an impression of its beauty. [pdf]

With perfect lighting, spacing, and the possibility for these breathtaking pieces of art to breathe they could exert all of their aesthetic influence on the viewer. A tapestry is not a small item but one that needs the space to be fully seen and appreciated.

Let me be clear: Go there, see them! They are most certainly worth being seen.

However, I do very much hope that in the future the Tolkien Tapestries (and carpets) get the treatment they deserve.

They definitely do.

Photo from Tolkien exhibition at Collège des Bernardins (c) Marcel R. Bülles – tapestries squeezed into a staircase.

My travel shenanigans II/II

After my visit to the exhibition it used the time I still had for one of my traditions – I visited Edith Piaf’s grave on Père Lachaise as this exceptional singer is the reason a) why I am named Marcel and b) why I do speak a little French. Besides, I adore her music!

I also managed to find the Sauron family (I’ll write about this, too, as this is just a regular French family name.)

[Did you know that beside the end of WWII her funeral was the only other time traffic stopped in Paris?]

I also made sure to finally stop by the Arc de Triomphe – it was touristy as ever and of not much interest to me but for the Avenue de Iena I had to change my shirt into my FC Carl Zeiss Jena polo shirt. Reason being: there is an Instagram account run by a Jena fan who shares fellow fans travelling the globe – wearing FCC shirts, jackets etc. Cases in point: My fellow Jena Tolkienist buddy Philipp and my friend from the States, Trevor!

[You haven’t heard of the ONLY football fan club mentioned in ‘The Silmarillion’?
Or that it took Trevor and me 18 years to meet again?]

Having walked a total of 18,000 steps that day (something like 14 kms) I went back to the train station after that because I was thoroughly exhausted. The ladies with the First Class SNCF lounge were so kind as to let me in even though my ticket and my gold status with the German railways loyalty program would not have been enough so I got electricity, drinks, and a bit of quiet before heading back.

It really turned out to be a perfect day and again – if you have the chance to see these glorious pieces of art, do make the effort!