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CANAL+

The 17 bizarre objects found in the waters of a Paris canal

Apart from the abundance of beer and wine bottles, which isn’t surprising considering the droves of hipsters that come to party on the quays in the summertime, the cleaning of Paris's Canal Saint Martin has uncovered some seriously bizarre finds.

Published: 21 January 2016 11:51 CET
The 17 bizarre objects found in the waters of a Paris canal
Photo: AFP

The picturesque canal that runs through the trendy tenth arrondissement in Paris is being cleaned for the first time since 2001.

And apart from the 100 Velib bikes that have been pulled out and cleaned down the murky waters of the canal have unearthed some pretty bizarre and worrying treasures.

Guns

On the first day of cleaning, The Local spotted a pistol in the canal near the Jaures metro stop. It was promptly seized by police. A rifle was found later, the Paris Canal Service told us. 

A drone

Photo: Flickr/Don McCullough

Yes, a drone apparently crash-landed into the canal. It's unknown what kind. 

Scooters

Photo: AFP

Along with nearly 100 Vélib bicycles, several scooters and motorcycles have turned up. 

Sewing mannequin

Photo: Flickr/SewingMachine-0288

Who doesn’t like to do a bit of sewing on the banks of the canal?

Wheelchair

Photo: Flickr/Pink Sherbet Photography

Someone is probably missing it. 

Vintage camera

The camera appears to be a Rolleiflex, made by a German company in the 1930s. 

Computers

Photo: The Local

As well as countless cell phones, cleaners have discovered several computers.

Road roller

Photo: Le Bon Coin

This vehicle is used in construction to compact gravel, concrete, or asphalt. 

Mattress

Anyone fancy some sunbathing?

Knife

Photo: The Local

If you look carefully in the center of the photo, you’ll see a large, rusty kitchen knife. 

Giant cuddly toys

Spotted this morning at the bottom of the #canalsaintmartin in #Paris, a nice white #tiger pic.twitter.com/ZynZj9vngk

— Benoit vallet (@bnpix) January 6, 2016

Some poor child was undoubtedly devastated when the canal claimed this lovely white tiger.

A toilet

Photo: AFP

This toilet could use a clean…

Push-chairs

Cleaners found ten push-chairs and fortunately zero babies.

One ski boot

Photo: Flickr/Hamish

A single, lonely ski boot was found. 

Shopping trolleys

Photo: AFP

The cleaners have found more than a couple grimey shopping trolleys.

Bathtub

Photo: Flickr/Kris Schroeder

It doesn't seem like an easy feat, but someone apparently chucked a bathtub into the canal. 

Washing machine

Photo: Flickr/Daniel Horacio Agostini

Last but certainly not least, yet another heavy household appliance was recovered from the canal's cloudy waters.

These aren’t even the strangest things ever found in the canal. 

In 1886, cleaners found an antique chest containing a gold coin. They found a bomb in 1916. 1925 was a morbid year, turning up a cat enclosed in a basket and a human skull.

For more details on how the cleaning is being done, check out our article here: So what's beneath the waters of a Paris canal?

Cleaning is scheduled to be done by April 4th. Once the canal reopens, keep in mind that if you’re caught tossing your garbage into it, it’ll cost you €68. 

By Katie Warren

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CANAL+

Battle begins over Guggenheim’s Venice art

The descendants of famous heiress and art collector Peggy Guggenheim will on Tuesday launch a court appeal over her sumptuous collection of works housed in an 18th century palace on Venice's Grand Canal.

Published: 18 May 2015 08:32 CEST
Battle begins over Guggenheim's Venice art
The Penny Guggenheim collection is housed in Palazzo Venier dei Leoni on the Venice Grand Canal. Photo: G Lanting

At the tender age of 13, Peggy Guggenheim inherited unimaginable wealth when her metal magnate father Benjamin went down on the Titanic, money she used to collect and display contemporary art.

After amassing a collection including works from – among others – Cocteau, Picasso, Miro, Matisse and Salvador Dali – she bought the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni on the Venice Grand Canal and began to display the priceless pieces.

As she neared her death in 1979, she handed over the palace and the collection of 326 works to the Solomon Guggenheim Foundation based in New York and run at the time by her cousin Hardy Guggenheim.

But now, one of Peggy's grandsons, Sandro Rumney, has launched a court battle over how the collection is managed, calling for it to be restored to its original configuration.

Lawyer Olivier Morice said it was about “respecting the wishes of Peggy Guggenheim to see the collection intact”.

The plaintiffs complain that works from other collections are now being displayed at the Palazzo, diluting Peggy's work.

They hired bailiffs to analyze the displays, finding in 2013 that there were 94 pieces from the Guggenheim collection and 75 works from the Schulhof collection, put together by a couple of American art collectors.

This “breaks with the original arrangement that Peggy wanted and which should be respected after her death”, the plaintiffs argue.

They want the collection's original state restored, as well as “protection” in the palace garden around a plaque marking Peggy's ashes – a “grave” they believe has been desecrated.

The appeal is taking place in France because Rumney and his children live there, but they already suffered a setback in July when a lower court threw out the case.

The Paris lower court said the case had already been settled in the 1990s when it was ruled the collection could not be considered as “protected”.

The Guggenheim Foundation said it was “proud to have faithfully respected the wishes of Peggy Guggenheim for more than 30 years by keeping her collection intact”, restoring the palace and running the “most visited modern and contemporary art museum in Italy”.

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