Lyon’s Musée Miniature et Cinéma
The art of miniatures
Miniatures, an ancient art that’s more than 4000 years old
A brief history of miniatures
The art of miniatures has been around for a long time. Even the ancient Egyptians created thousands of miniatures some 4000 years ago that modern archaeologists are now discovering in their tombs. These miniatures were made to provide an exact depiction of the aspects of daily life that the deceased person had cherished the most: his pottery workshop, his fishing boat, his farm animals, his home and family. All of these objects, sculpted on a small scale, faithfully represented the things dear to them during their lifetime. Burying a person with these miniatures was a way to ensure his happiness in the next life.
Miniatures exist in all cultural traditions and in every country in the world. Whether painted on ivory in China, sculpted out of earth in Peru, or carved out of wood and placed into bottles in France, they represent images that are full of meaning for human beings.
Didn’t Victor Hugo write that an image is stronger than reality?
