With the support of the Friends and Sponsors of the University of Cologne, two photographic campaigns were carried out in 1991 and 1994 in the Musée de Laon by the Cologne archaeologist Andreas Linfert and master photographer Gisela Geng née Dettloff to document the ancient sculptures in the Musée de Laon. The early death of Andreas Linfert prevented the final processing at that time. Thanks to the support of the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, the important collection, which has remained unpublished until now, can now be edited in a scholarly catalog by Dr. Karolina Kaderka (Paris) and Dr. Paul Scheding (Munich).

The collection was gathered from the art trade by Joseph Eugene Paul-Marguerite de La Charlonie (1844-1921). Due to the quality of the sculptures, their diversity and their good state of preservation, the approximately 100 objects have outstanding significance. Unlike the antique collections of the 17th and 18th centuries, no additions were made to the objects located in Laon. For the most part, they come from the eastern Mediterranean, particularly from Greece, Asia Minor, and Alexandria, and include a range of original Greek sculpture, from 6th-century male mantle figures to 4th-century BC funerary reliefs and images of the gods to late Hellenistic works. Among the Roman sculptures, the portraits from the Hadrianic period and some late antique heads are particularly noteworthy.

The creation of a bilingual glossary is also intended to promote scholarly exchange between francophone and German-language research. The archival material in the Musee de Laon offers important information about the provenance of some pieces.

Responsible: Dietrich Boschung

Employees: Karolina Kaderka, Paul Scheding

Funding: Fritz Thyssen Stiftung