Magical Mascarons... Bordeaux.

Despite the glaring sunlight and the soaring temperatures. I could not stop myself from squinting up at the incredible sculpted heads that gaze down from the grand facades in a city that is recognized as a world heritage site by the UNESCO; Bordeaux.

Although I was unaware of the fame of these illustrious 'têtes' on my visit, I learnt of their well-merited acclaim as symbols of the capital of the Gironde region regrettably only after the event. Had I known that they were such a 'thing' in Bordeaux, I would have observed them a little more methodically, rather than just taking shots at random.

In my ignorance, I simply enjoyed trying to spot these stone faces around the older parts of the city, and then admired the different expressions and accoutrements they bore.

The term 'mask' is commonly used in English to describe these sculpted works, however the French masque does not bear quite the same meaning and hence mascaron would be more appropriate. Indeed, originating in the Arabic word mascara and the Italian mascharone, the mascaron implies a'large grotesque mask' or 'buffoonery'.

Hence the mascaron would display exaggerated facial traits, contorted into comic or ridiculous expressions and grimaces yet its function was rather more serious - to act as a guardian to ward off evil forces and bad luck. Mascarons would therefore be placed above doorways, caves, grottos and fountains to keep at bay all that was undesirable.

In Bordeaux, many allegorical, fantastic or comic mascarons adorn the building facades, yet there are also figures from Ancient Greek mythology, identifiable by the symbolic attributes that accompany them, albeit less familiar to us today and this has resulted in the terms masque/mascaron becoming somewhat interchangeable.

Strictly speaking, however, masques would typically be situated above arcades or colonnades on grand buildings and would feature the divinities, the seasons and other more 'serious' themes compared to those of the mascarons.

Inspired by Greco-Latin Antiquity, certain Renaissance artists had used decorative heads in their own sculptural features and consequently during the reign of François 1er, Fontainebleau benefitted from this influence which then spread across France and Europe.

In Paris, some of the first masques were employed on the Hôtel Carnavalet in the mid 16th century and later on the Palais du Louvre.

The first heads appeared in Bordeaux in the 16th and 17th century but their greatest success was reserved for the Classical period when they were de rigueur to reflect the growing prosperity and status of the city.

Olympian gods are to be seen in the Bordelais streets; Minerva with her owl, Jupiter with his thunder, Bacchus with his- vine leaves, Neptune with his trident, Mercury and his caduceus... Much of Bordeaux's wealth and might came from its position as main royal port in France and second busiest port in the world after London.

During its golden age, the Port de la Lune was the vast trading hub, supplying Europe with its insatiable appetite for commodity staples such as wine, sugar, cocoa and coffee. Less glorious now was the city's trade in slaves, with Bordeaux holding the unenviable title as being the second largest French slave-trading city after Nantes. If you look carefully, you will notice black men and women heads looking down on you, as a nod to this past, whilst references to Bordeaux freemasons are also still visible.

When the 'Pearl of Aquitaine' was subsequently transformed by the grand urban redesign masterminded by the 'Haussmann bordelais' - Marquis de Tourny - the inclusion of masques/mascarons was imposed for the enhancement of the facades.

After the Revolution, the tenets of Neo-classicism led to a more sober approach to architectural embellishment and therefore the lavish extremes of Rococo style - including the masques and mascarons - fell out of favour.

Today, the exact number of these sculpted heads is not clear, and even less certain are the names of the artists responsible for their realisation, yet somehow that adds to their magic!