At 10:35 PM 5/11/00 +0200, you wrote: >Next week we have our spring meeting of the "Commission des Cadrans >Solaires" in Paris. And some people dealing with dials restoration could be >interested in restoring the dial you mention. So could you, please, send me >the references of that dial (the "Catalogue des Cadrans Solaires" is really >big !).
Bonjour Jean-Paul, The chateau is "Mas de la Brune", 13810 Eygalieres. The following text is from their web site. <http://www.Francemarket.com/brune> "Histoire de manoir, destin de château. Construit en 1572 pour Pierre Isnard, consul, le Mas de la Brune est un véritable joyau d'architecture Renaissance. Corniches, encorbellements, fenêtres à meneaux, échauguette, motifs décoratifs évoquant Evangiles et légendes païennes... il a en lui tous les secrets d'un art et tout le charme d'un songe. Dans le bleu de la Provence des Alpilles, le Mas de la Brune est un château à bonheurs niché dans le parfum des lavandes et des roses, l'ombrage des marronniers géants et d'un domaine séculaire. Pour vous acueillir, il a dans son coeur le raffinement extrême, l'élégance, la noblesse d'une maison d'exception." If you go to their web site, there are excellent pictures of the building and surroundings. They are slow to load on my slow modem and computer at home because they use a Java script applet to fade from one picture to the next. It displays well on my better system at work. Unfortunately the dial does not show in these pictures. It is a vertical dial declining east beside the window, above and to the left of the door. The style is in place. The hour lines are engraved in the stone and are no longer distinct due to erosion and decay. It is a simple dial so restoration should be just a matter of cleaning and engraving the lines and numbers. I appreciate the work being done by the "Commission des Cadrans Solaires" in publishing the catalogue and encouraging the preservation of "le patrimoine gnomonique francais". Roger Bailey N51 W 115 The english text is: "A Manoir History, a Castle Destiny. Built in 1572 for the Consul Pierre Isnard,the Mas de la Brune is a real gem of Renaissance architecture. Cornices, corbelled structures, mullioned windows, watch-tower,decorative motifs evoking the Gospels and the pagan legend...it contains all the secrets of an art, all the enchantment of a dream. In the Provence blue of Les Alpilles, the Mas de la Brune is a castle brimming with happiness, basking in the fragrance of lavender and roses,the shade of the chestnut-trees and an age-old estate. It bids you welcome with extreme rafinement, elegance, the nobility of an exceptional house."
