The State had to sell the objects because they no longer fit into the new concept of the Centre Mosellan, as the museum will be called from now on. The decision to sell the regional heirlooms recently sparked heated discussions, in particular because the objects were donated to the museum by local families in the 70s. The auction made around €4,800 in total.
One of the exhibits was an old horse carriage. It will not be a part of the new Centre Mosellan, and the Carriage Museum in Peppange also declined to feature it as part of its exhibition. The carriage ended up being sold to a new owner, who paid €350 for it. It has not been officially disclosed who bought it. In comparison, a bundle containing among other things a drill, a pair of pliers, a hammer, and an anvil was sold for €501. An old cart, a grape press, and an oven were sold for €1,005. However, not every item found a new owner – 17 bundles are still left.
Léon Gloden, the President of the Tourism Association of the Moselle region, stated last Sunday that if a lot of objects were left after the auction, the Association would do its best to find a use for them. Despite poor documentation, it has also been tried to find the people whose relatives donated the objects in the first place to return the items to them.
Upon enquiry by our colleagues from RTL.lu, the Association also confirmed that other municipalities have gotten in touch over the past days and that the Association itself has also decided to keep some of the objects. Initially, the plan was to use the money from the auction to fund a sculpture to be placed in front of the new Centre Mosellan. However, according to information obtained by RTL, the Ministry of Tourism has now decided to help fund the sculpture.
The idea is to work alongside the State, and commission an artist to install a sculpture in the courtyard of the new museum, in homage to the people who generously donated exhibits in the 70s.
Gloden promised that the new Centre Mosellan will carry on the mission of the old Wine Museum, and tell the stories of previous generations, of life and work in the Moselle region.
