the Rennes Museum of Fine Arts Offers a virtual exploration of history A mummy with a cat's head representing the goddess Bastet Thanks to a digital device in virtual reality. The free device is accessible every Wednesday by reservation, and reveals the hidden aspects of the mummy and the scientific method that allowed us to better understand what it contained.
On the ground floor of Rennes Museum of Fine ArtsThe public generally begins their visit by entering the space to the right of the reception desk. He goes back in time and finds himself at the heart of the funerary customs of ancient Egypt. Thanks to the collection found mainly in the Louvre Museum in 1923, he discovered the customs of this ancient civilization. This is it Mummy Cat Bastet Which gets the ball rolling, and for more than a year the Museum has been offering a new and innovative type of digital mediation of this very object: the virtual exploration “Le Secret de Bastet”.
Mediation around this mummy is not new. In 2015, the University of Manchester (England) revealed the results of an X-ray study of a group of Egyptian animal mummies. The results indicate three categories of content: some contain a complete cat body, others are an accumulation of cat bones, and the last are empty. Thanks to the first X-rays performed by a veterinarian from the city of Rennes, the museum discovered, in 2017, that their mummy It is part of the second type. “ An X-ray showed a hole in the head, which turned out to be a ball of fibres. », informs Odell HayesCultural Intermediate-Visitor Center in Rennes Museum of Fine Arts. For the Egyptians, giving something a form was sufficient for its existence. ” The mummy of a cat represents a mummy, if it were empty that would be the case “, she explains. It represents a visible reality that it brings into existence. In the same way, the deceased are represented alive and well, whereas in our culture, for example, in the Middle Ages, we make recumbent figures. This means representing the deceased with the appearance of the deceased. »
A module is then designed and then 3D printed to make this new data visible to enrich the Egyptology Department's museum science. This independent brokerage tool is the first of its kind in the world.
On this basis of information, the “Secret de Bastet” virtual reality device was designed, which is an award-winning projectCall for projects across creativity at Rennes Métropole. ” These projects have the advantage of making local structures or companies work and cooperate. “, specify.” The goal was not to show the image of the mummy, but we have it physically in the collections. I wanted to convey unseen content immediately, so that it would be more and not repetitive. »
The scenario was designed based on internal data, not publicly available, to explain the research process in an interesting way. Coordinated by Odell Hayes, the project accompanies Valerie Goranton (researcher and researcher at INSA Rennes), Ronan Goguen (INSA Research Engineer Rennes) W Theophan NicholasS (INRA archaeologist). This is it A polymorphic society Labasi, who was responsible for designing the interface.
It is displayed among the permanent collections, and is projected to the public around the museum using 3D glasses. A voice guides him through different research laboratories, and in the company of a cute cat waiting to be petted, he attends the examinations being performed on the mummy in order to better understand the artifact. You don't have to be a VR expert to try to enjoy the adventure, the goal above all is to provide an easy-to-understand tool. ” It can be used while sitting or standing. »
Virtual Exploration is available in English and in a translated version. Not originally designed for this purpose, the device was also proposed to the Vern-sur-Seiche men's prison and the residents of EHPAD. ” The experience with the prisoners was very surprising », says the mediator. ” Upon removing the mask, two people told me they had forgotten where they were...” This is what the place wants: to offer an opportunity, a moment of escape, even for those who cannot travel, through an innovative technological device that enriches the museum’s curatorial photography.
Project format:
Valerie Goranton (educator and researcher at INSA Rennes)
Ronan Goguen (INSA Research Engineer Rennes)
Theophan Nicola (INRA archaeologist)
Jeremy Lakosh (Orange Innovation Development, Sison)
Fabrice Guichard (Polymorph, Pasi)
Odile Hayes (medium, Rennes Museum of Fine Arts)
Practical information
Rennes Museum of Fine Arts, 20 Pier Emile Zola, 35,000 rennes
Open Tuesday – Sunday: 10am – 6pm
Closed on Mondays and public holidays
From 11 years
All audiences
Duration: 30 minutes
Free of charge – approximately every Wednesday afternoon – by reservation [email protected]
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