The "Musée de Normandie" which was founded in Caen after the end of the Second World War, belong to a new generation of museums, based more on a scientific approach than the principle of a collection.
For 50 years, the "Musée de Normandie" has collected the results of archaeological excavations carried out in Normandy, mainly in its western part. These excavations of castles, abbeys but also modest residences or rural churches have provided a varied "archaeological material" which illuminates various aspects of daily life. These objects can only give a partial view of the past, as all that is conserved is what remains over time (metal, bone, ceramics…) while organic materials (leather, fabric, wood…) have generally disappeared.
From the great museums movement of the 19th century, the "Musée de Normandie" has gathered together the collections of the "Société des Antiquaires de Normandie" (Society of The Antiquaries of Normandy), founded in Caen by Arcisse de Caumont in 1835. There are few archaeological items left, but numismatic collections, a number of scarce items saved in extremis from the church and cathedral treasures as well as a rich series of sculptures and architectural fragments which, in an austere presentation, are a testimony of the diversity of Norman Romanesque decoration.
The bequest of the Musée de la
Société des Antiquaires de Normandie