Amiens

This lantern dated 1734 bears the following inscripton in openwork letters along its four sides: ‘The present crib was made ​​and given / by Charles le Jeune and / Marie Briau his wife / both of the present / parish for whom / we will sing / / the Te Deum // every Sunday and Holy Day / from Christmas / until the purification / / every year as long // as the present crib will last. 1734.’ It is therefore a crib in which the baby Jesus, lying on straw, was presented every year at Christmas according to an Amiens tradition dating back to 1291. It was not originally encased in glass, but completely open. This crib comes from the church of Saint Pierre d’Amiens where Charles Le Jeune married Marie Briaux in 1721 and where he had his children baptised before being buried there in 1762. It is thought to be the work of a blacksmith from Oisemont and was found after the Revolution in the nave of the church in Hangest sur Somme, where it was mentioned by various travellers before its acquisition.