Beachcomber Magazine 05

A s you approach the buil- ding, the grounds extend before you and a feeling of tranquillity prevails. Although you’ve never seen the building before, it seems familiar, like a family house rediscovered after a long absence. That’s probably down to its harmonious architecture – 18 th century St. Malo-style imported by the French colonialists – with heavy wooden shutters and a vivacious circular fountain that duplicates the façade and the sky. A flight of steps leads up to the front entrance. Inside, time has stood still. UNIQUE PIECES The British colonial authorities purchased the residence from the Franco-Mauritian Robillard family in 1950 to turn it into a museum. The house has kept its olde-worlde charm complete with creaking staircase and warped parquet MAHEBOURG MUSEUM THE ART OF MEMORY 70 Room dedicated to the French period. Salle consacrée à la période française. Chinese Kraak porcelain, made during the reign of Emperor Wanli, Ming Dynasty. Porcelaine chinoise dite « Kraak » fabriquée sous le règne de l’empereur Wanli de la dynastie Ming. flooring – polished daily with red wax since the bygone days of the battle of Grand Port, when it was converted into a hospital. The sun’s rays radiate through the French windows, ricocheting off the period display cabinets dripping with precious stones, pearls and Oriental porcelain, all spoils from shipwrecks. As the light falls on different parts of the room, portraits of corsairs, merchants and ship’s captains as well as the sails from model ships come to life and breathe. Only the Saint-Géran bell remains mute, battered by two “shipwrecks” (in 1744, it sank with its ship and was later dynamited to pieces by anonymous seekers of bronze. A collector purchased it to stick the pieces back together). The other two “flagship” pieces in the museum are the astrolabe, dating from 1568, found among the remains of the Banda shipwreck, 