Africa-Press – Angola. The Minister of Culture, Tourism and Environment, Filipe Zau, will sign tomorrow, in Paris, with his French counterpart, Roselyne Bachelot, a cultural cooperation agreement between Angola and France, a date that marks the 61st anniversary in the country of the beginning of the armed struggle for national liberation.
The Agreement aims, on the one hand, to promote mutual knowledge of the culture and history of both countries, using culture as a lever to achieve a better quality of life for the respective peoples, taking into account its impact on development. and on the other hand, to consolidate and strengthen bonds of friendship and mutual understanding.
The signing of the agreement will take place at the castle of Versailles, during the official ceremony of handing over to the French State, two French sculptures from the 18th century of great historical and artistic value, donated by the Angolan State, within the scope of a partnership protocol between the Ministry of Culture of Angola and France, signed on 1 September 2021, at the Angolan Embassy in Paris.
The Embassy of Angola in France decided to hold this ceremony on Friday, to pay tribute to all those who, with their self-denial and sacrifice, made it possible for Angola to be an independent and sovereign country today.
In addition to the signature by the two ministers, the cultural cooperation agreement and the deed of donation through which the transfer of ownership of the donated sculptures is formalized, the ceremony will include the inauguration of an exhibition that will illustrate the path of the sculptures since their creation. until its removal from the garden of the Embassy of Angola, as well as the presentation of a marble plaque consecrating the Republic of Angola as one of the great patrons of the castle of Versailles.
The two works of art in question, a sculptural set called Zéphyr, Flore et l’Amour and a sculpture called l’Abondance, had been commissioned respectively by Kings Louis XIV and Louis XV, to decorate the gardens of their castles, and are part of the of the heritage of Versailles that was dispersed as a result of the Revolution, and on which the castle has been making a great effort for about two centuries, for its location and recovery.
Owned by the Angolan State since 1979, when the building of its embassy in France was acquired, in whose garden they were located, the sculptures were located in 2018 by a specialist from Versailles who did not know their whereabouts and who had made a thorough study of the archives. available on sales involving the castle’s heritage and the successive changes of owner, with the aim of making an inventory and searching the immovable property of all descendants, in the hope that the works are still in France.
In response to the request of the castle of Versailles, the Angolan State agreed to donate the sculptures to the French State, in the name of the excellent bilateral cooperation relations, including in the field of Culture, and taking into account the great respect that Angola has for history, heritage and for the cultural identity of peoples, thus reaffirming its conviction on the primacy of each country in the enjoyment of its own artistic creation.
Some bilateral cultural cooperation actions resulting from the Sculpture Donation Protocol are being prepared, namely the exchange between professionals from both countries in the field of museums and heritage, which will be materialized by the visit of Angolan technicians to Versailles next May, and in the domain of the definition and implementation of cultural policies and legislation, which will bring experts from the French Ministry of Culture to Angola, later this year.
The Embassy of Angola will receive from the castle of Versailles next July, two replicas of the sculptures to replace the originals donated to France, and the exhibition that will open on the 4th of February will remain open to the public for three months after which the works of art will integrate the rooms of the national museum of the castles of Versailles and Trianon, showing on their labels the inscription: “Donation of the Republic of Angola in 20222”.
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