Photos: Time Capsule Mansion Opened After 100 Years

Mansion's "Masterpiece"

Photograph courtesy Jérôme Mondière

According to curator Leyoudec, the "masterpiece of the house" is Louis Mantin's bedroom, whose walls are covered in an unusual material: gilded leather. Made in southern France in 1712, the leather was covered with silver leaf and yellow varnish, which gives it a golden hue (pictured).

The 1896 mansion is very typical of the time period, but it was also "very eclectic—you have a lot of styles represented in this house," she noted.

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Published February 9, 2011

"Lovers" Den

Photograph courtesy Jérôme Mondière

The Pink, or Four Seasons, bedroom (pictured) was a second home to Louise Alaire, a married woman who had a secret 20-year relationship with Louis Mantin.

Lined in silk, the room offsets Mantin's "very male" sleeping quarters, Leyoudec noted. The room also has elegant furniture in the style of French king Louis XV.

The original silk wall covering—whose pattern is called les amours, or "the lovers"—was in a "very bad state," but "fortunately we found a firm specialized in soft-furnishing weaving to weave again exactly the same material."

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Published February 9, 2011

Work Piling Up

Photograph courtesy Jérôme Jaillet

In 2007 workers repair a water-damaged wall, part of Maison Mantin's recent 3.4-million-Euro ($4.6-million) restoration, which was funded by the regional government.

"Now when you visit the house, you have the impression that nothing has changed," Leyoudec said. But the repairs were extensive—including a full restoration of the woodwork, she said.

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Published February 9, 2011

Before: Worm and Mold Damage

Photograph courtesy Jérôme Jaillet

The wood floor immediately surrounding this fireplace, pictured before the restoration project, had to be removed due to worm damage, Leyoudec said.

Also, high humidity over the years had spurred the growth of mold, which required conservators to remove some murals for restoration. But some murals, such as those pictured above, were in such a bad state that they were later repainted.

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Published February 9, 2011

After: "Eclectic" Opulence

Photograph courtesy Jérôme Mondière

Shown restored, the fireplace reveals a "strange and eclectic" style, Leyoudec said.

Topped by a sculpture of a woman's head, the fireplace also features ceramics of dead animals (just above the mantle), a devil fighting a dragon (center, below the mantle, in wood) a face at the bottom of each column, and a mirror (above the vase) that's positioned too high for a person to see his or her reflection.

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Published February 9, 2011

Patriotic Lounge

Photograph courtesy Jérôme Mondière

Maison Mantin's lounge is decorated with furniture in the style of French kings Louis XV and XVI and artwork from Italy, the latter of which Mantin purchased during his European travels. The glass in the center arch is not a mirror, but a glass window on the next room.

The candelabra has three colored bulbs—in red, white, and blue—that signify the "attachment of Louis to the French republic," Leyoudec said.

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Published February 9, 2011

Early Electrics

Photograph courtesy Jérôme Mondière

The first private house with electricity in Moulins, the mansion's features include an electric lamp (pictured) from a Catholic church, according to Leyoudec.

"Mantin wanted to have comfort—he was very interested in modernization," she said.

The house also had hot-and-cold running water and a toilet on each floor—rare luxuries for the time period.

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Published February 9, 2011

Stuffed Blowfish

Photograph courtesy Jérôme Mondière

A stuffed blowfish is one of several oddities collected by Mantin, which include animal skeletons and fossilized wood.

"Mantin was very interested in everything," Leyoudec said.

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Published February 9, 2011

Battle of the Frogs

Photograph courtesy Jérôme Mondière

Two stuffed frogs with "human attitudes" play out a miniature battle in a work by a Parisian taxidermist, Leyoudec said. Another of the mansion's unusual objects is a stuffed rat playing the violin.

Mantin, a childless bachelor who died at 54, "was very afraid to be forgotten," Leyoudec added.

"By giving his house to the town of Moulins, he wanted to stay in their memories," she said. "We can say now that he has succeeded."

Published February 9, 2011