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A piece of treasure and a projective memory : The “Saint Martin” Vase, onques faict par mains d’omme terrien. The treasure of the Abbey of Saint-Maurice d’Agaune has a sard vase from the 1st Century BC, which legendary tradition attributes to being a gift of Saint Martin. The legend dates back to a little after the middle of the 12th Century and, in all likelihood, was created at the Abbey of Saint-Maurice, at a critical moment of spiritual renewal for the Abbey, which led to the reorganization of the Abbey’s memory. At Saint-Maurice, this involved both legal documents, which were “falsified”, and individual pieces in its treasury for which prestigious donors were invented : by calling on “founders” or “patrons” from the distant past, the Abbey could acquire a longer history and so carry on as a sacred site.