Banners: a popular art to discover at the Departmental Archives

An exhibition at the Departmental and Metropolitan Archives of Lyon highlights a little-known heritage: civil and religious banners.

From the Condrieu press to the locomotives of L'Arbresle, including the lyres of the brass bands, the Bannière exhibition, on display until June 28 at the Departmental and Metropolitan Archives of Lyon, offers a unique panorama of these textile objects that bear collective identity.

A guest on Lyon Capitale's 6 Minutes Chrono program, Bruno Galland, director of the Archives, discusses this unique exhibition. "We're showing a wide variety of banners: processional banners, fanfare banners, mutual aid banners, and religious banners, all of which illustrate the diversity of what has been done in this category," he explains.

Far from being mere accessories, banners tell stories of territories, faith, solidarity, and local pride. Unlike the flag, which flies on a pole, "a banner is a piece of embroidered fabric suspended from above, often richly decorated, and which marks the identity of those who march behind it," explains the historian.

While banners are found throughout France, Lyon offers particularly fertile ground for their study. "First, we have here the art of silk, weaving, and embroidery, which allows for the production of very beautiful works. Then, in the 19th century, there was a boom in brass bands and a strong religious sensibility, two important vectors for the manufacture of banners," emphasizes Bruno Galland.

Some pieces were even designed to reflect current events of their time. "There are banners dedicated to the Virgin, created at the time of the recognition of the Immaculate Conception," he says. Others embody local economic realities, such as those representing a wine press in Condrieu or a locomotive in L'Arbresle, testifying to the involvement of civil corporations.

The public will be able to discover around forty banners selected for their aesthetic quality, the variety of their uses and their territorial roots. "We wanted to strike a balance between religious and civil banners, and between the different types of societies that carried them," explains Bruno Galland.

The exhibition is free, with guided tours available. "It's an exhibition designed for everyone, even those who know nothing about banners," he insists.

The full transcript of the show with Bruno Galland:

Hello everyone, welcome to the 6 Minutes Chrono program, the daily meeting of the Lyon Capitale editorial team today. We're going to talk about culture, we're going to talk about an exhibition called Banner . It's located in the departmental and metropolitan archives, south of the Part-Dieu train station. And to talk about it, we're welcoming Bruno Galland, who is the director of the departmental and metropolitan archives. Hello Bruno Galland.

Good morning.

Thank you for joining us. Let's get to the heart of the matter. Can you first tell us a bit about what you're showing in this exhibition?

This exhibition shows many banners of very different types: procession banners, fanfare banners, mutual aid banners, religious banners as well, which illustrate a little of the diversity of what has been done in this category.

So how did you choose your pieces? And can you tell us a little bit about what a banner is, perhaps in relation to a flag in particular? It's not a word we hear often; we don't see banners every day.

Yes, so we can see banners in Lyon when there is, for example, the banner festival in September or the Pennons processions. We saw some for the Renaissance Festivals which took place last weekend. A banner is a piece of embroidered fabric, but which is held by a pole suspended from the top, whereas a flag is suspended from a mast on the side. And we find banners mainly from the 19th century, but we had them from the beginning in the Middle Ages to direct armies. Then we began to have religious banners at the time of the Reformation to mark the identity of congregations.

And are there also civil banners? I imagine that the religious do not have a monopoly on the banner?

Religious life doesn't have a monopoly on the banner, even though many of them are preserved. But during the 19th century, brass bands began to adopt banners that would help illustrate their identity. Mutual aid societies also had them, as did gymnastic societies. Thus, the banner saw a significant development during the 19th century.

Can we say that there is a symbolism that is different from that of the flag? Or that there is another function, another use?

Oh yes, it's very different. The banner really needs to have an embroidered design that marks the identity of those marching behind it. For example, for a marching band banner, you might find a lyre, but also symbols that illustrate the municipality to which the band belongs. For a religious banner, you might have a particular saint, etc.

You talked about it a little: is there a history of banners in Lyon? You talked about the Pennons, the banner festival too. Are we in an area where there is a strong local expertise in this specific, perhaps niche, area of ​​banners?

So we find banners all over France, but it's true that in Lyon, there are two reasons that make the banners particularly interesting. First, we have the art of silk, weaving, and embroidery, which means we have some very beautiful works of art. And then, during the 19th century, we have a particularly significant development of brass bands, and a religious sensitivity that will lead to the development of a certain number of religious banners.

Yes, indeed, we can go into a little bit more detail. I believe there are some of the Virgin Mary at the time of the recognition of the Immaculate Conception. We know that banners were made in the Lyon region, which were also linked to current events.

Oh, but of course! That's what I like about banners: there are some that are linked to current events, and then there are some that truly embody the region. For example, in the Condrieu region, on the banners, we'll see a press. But in regions around Tarare, we'll have the instruments used for weaving and embroidery. And in L'Arbresle, for example, you have a union of the Union of Railways. We'll have the reconstruction on the banner of a magnificent locomotive of which the L'Arbresle railway company was particularly proud.

So there is also an appropriation by civil entities of the banner, which was in religious history, we can say?

It's a bit short, I would say that it was initially feudal in the Middle Ages, and then, indeed, from the Reformation onwards, it became mainly religious. There was indeed a development of banners.

We're also going to talk about the exhibition. How were the pieces chosen? Is there a common thread? What were the broad criteria?

So we wanted both aesthetic criteria – you have banners on a white background, on a garnet background, on a green background – so we really wanted to show the diversity of know-how. We also wanted to balance between religious banners and civil banners. And within the civil banners: the marching bands, the gymnastic societies… We wanted it to be beautiful to see, to also show the diversity of the territories, and to be balanced with the richness of the Rhône department and the Lyon metropolitan area.

Do you have a personal favorite, in all subjectivity?

I really like the banner of the Catholic Union of Railways of L'Arbresle, because I really like the locomotive that is represented on this banner. And then I like the alliance of the religious and the civil, since you have both the Sacred Heart at the top left of the banner, and the coat of arms of the commune of L'Arbresle.

So, that's what you'll find in the exhibition, which is running – I repeat – until June 28. There are numerous guided tours.

Absolutely. You can definitely ask, just on our website. There are guided tours; you sign up and you can mark them.

By the way, can we come if we don't know much about it?

Oh, listen, we tried to make it as easy as possible for those who aren't familiar with banners to discover. So, of course, it's an exhibition that's open to everyone, and it's free. We're open during archive opening hours—so it's mostly on weekdays—but on Saturday, June 28, we'll be open especially. And then there are conferences on banners; you can find all that on our website.

And your postal address? Where can we find you? Where are the archives?

So the archives are at 34, rue du Général Mouton-Duvernet. The easiest way is next to the Part-Dieu train station, and there's a tram station called Archives Départementales.

Perfect, that will be the final word. Thank you very much, Bruno Galland, for coming to our studio to present your exhibition.

Thank you.

As for you, thank you for watching this show. You can find more details on cultural news on the website lyoncapitale.fr. I'll see you very soon.