La Borne de Terre Sacrée (Landmark of Sacred Earth)

Gaston Deblaize, designer

1895–1935

La Borne de Terre Sacrée (Landmark of Sacred Earth), 1927

Where object was made: France

Material/technique: terracotta; soil from Verdun; France

Dimensions:
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 13 x 5.5 x 3.3 cm
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 5 1/8 x 2 3/16 x 1 5/16 in

Credit line: Gift of Professor Eric Gustav Carlson

Accession number: 2014.3007

Not on display

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Sculptor and veteran soldier of the First World War (1914–1918), Gaston Deblaize made commemorative terracotta milestones that held dirt from Verdun, France. Although WWI was known as the first mass global war of the industrial age, the Battle of Verdun was its longest conflict, lasting 303 days. These objects were made to memorialize milestones along the sacred road to Verdun. The artist eventually made larger versions that were dedicated to men who had lost their lives, but smaller terracottas like this one were originally sold to benefit soldiers in the home for les Gueules Cassés, or broken mouths or faces. Each was filled with soil samples taken from Verdun.