Paris, Louvre

Q19675

It is hard to write a review of the Louvre in Paris, because it is one of the world’s largest museums. There are many departments, and each one of them might, in its field, have been a museum of the first order. For example, it is hard to find another Egyptological museum in Europe that equals the Louvre.

The museum also has a reputation for interesting expositions – one on Meroe and one on the archaeology of Saudi Arabia during my latest visit – and to be honest: one ought to visit the Louvre twice a year to keep in touch. The people of Paris are unusually blessed.

If you visit the museum for the first time, you will be surprised by the pyramid-shaped entrance. Use the time you lose to pass the bomb check and buy a ticket to look at it, because it is a monument of the first order.

I already mentioned the Egyptian department, where you can easily spend a full day. There are portraits of the Egyptian kings and objects from daily life, and what is even better: the full history is dealth with, so you will also find objects from the first millennium BCE. The Greek, Roman, and Coptic age are not ignored either, although you need to go to Greek department for the royal portraits of the Ptolemies.

The Egyptian department is deservedly famous, and attracts many visitors, who are usually exhausted when they are half-way their tour. Usually, they will take the shortest route to the exit, which brings them through the departments of Cypriote, Arab, Palmyrene, and Phoenician art – which are, as a consequence, full of people who are not interested in the objects. That is a pity, because these rooms alone justify a trip to Paris. Still, if you manage to ignore the crowd of tired visitors to the Egyptian department, you will certainly enjoy coffins from Sidon, Byblos, and Carthage, Nabataean inscriptions, and statues from Cyprus. One of my favorites is a relief of one of the divine triad of Palmyra. You will need half a day to study it well.

Next to it is the Oriental department. The most famous object is, of course, the Code of Hammurabi. Don’t concentrate on the diorite monolith only, but also look in the small display in the same room, because there you will see cuneiform tablets with the same text – one of them written more than a millennium later and proving that these laws had become some kind of Mesopotamian classic, and it is probably no coincidence that the division of these Old Babylonian laws returns in the Ten Commandments.

The Code of Hammurabi was found in Susa, which is a prominent part of the oriental collection. You will also see a wall decorated with Achaemenid soldiers and cuneiform tablets from this Iranian town. Other important excavations are Mari and Khorsabad, but there is a lot more to see. There are also rooms devoted to Jordan and western Syria; they are not adjacent to the eastern Syria and the other Levantine rooms, which is a bit impractical – but the Mesha stela is worth the detour. You need a full day to study the entire oriental department.

The Roman department is surprisingly small. Yet, there is a lot of fine sculpture, including a nice series of portraits of Roman rulers. Next to it is a comparatively small Etruscan department. A gallery of rather mediocre statues brings you to the room devoted to Roman art that was later restored, which is great fun: usually, you can immediately see which part is ancient and which is an addition. (Here, you will also find Canova’s famous Amor and Psyche.) You need about half a day to see it all, read the explanatory signs, and take your photos.

The Greek department is larger – you again need a full day to study it all. The two most famous pieces are the expressive Nike of Samothrake and the famous Venus of Milo. The latter is more or less the museum’s raison d’être. Napoleon had looted the Italian museums, but after he had found his Waterloo, all those works of art had to be returned. In an age in which it was believed that inspiration by great art created great minds, and that Greek art was the most inspirational, the emptying of the Louvre was believed to be a national disaster, but fortunately, the Venus of Milo was found. Now, France could compete again with the British, who had the Elgin Marbles. That the armless deity was a Hellenistic and not a Classical statue, was ignored – the inscription which proves it, is now conveniently lost.

The Greek department also has some fine temple remains (from a/o Assos), the Tanagra statuettes that I increasingly love, and lots of pottery. Unfortunately, the rooms with Greek ceramics have recently been closed. I haven’t seen the Croesus to the left for quite some time: last time, the room was closed to install better protection; before that, it was on loan to another museum.

The crowds are very large, and you may count yourself lucky that I did not bring you to the paintings. This makes a visit to the Louvre a bit difficult, and you must prepare yourself well; fortunately, the museum’s website is excellent. Four days is the minimum for the ancient departments.

Finally, I must mention one little gem that is often ignored and where you can, consequently, quietly look at the objects: the room with metal objects. There is some fine silver work, but you will also see the helmet of a gladiator, a nice statuette of the Tyche of Antioch, the head of Demetrius Poliorcetes, a hoplite’s panoply, a curse tablet from the Crimea, Roman military diplomas, and so on.

But unfortunately, that’s the only part of the museum where you will not meet many other people. In fact, the museum is too big, and I think that it would be wiser to split it into smaller museums.

This museum was visited in 1984, 1989, 2008, 2010, 2020.

301 pictures related to this museum

An Egyptian poem about the battle of Kadesh	Susa, Soldiers' Relief	Susa, Soldiers' Relief	Nectanebo I wearing the war crown
Annius Verus	Mask of a Sumerian	Eretria, Two-headed phial	Susa, Weight from Didyma
Ptolemy II Philadelphus	Amasis	Cleopatra VII Philopator in Egyptian style	Sobekhotep IV
Ugarit, Alphabet tablet	Assos, Temple of Athena, relief, Triton	Relief of a Roman officer	Timna, Dedication by Rathad'il
Saba, the Arab warrior Mushayqat Hamayat ibn Yusuf on a dromedary	Thyatira, Relief of a gladiator (thraex)	Figurine from Bactria	Lascuta, Imperator inscription
Pittacus	Bishapur, Palace, Mosaic of man dressed as an ostrich	Uruk, Cuneiform tablet with first use of a zero	Utica, Oil lamp with a lion and a panther
Tepe Sialk, Sherd from the fourth millennium BCE	Smyrna, Honorific decree for an officer of VI Ferrata	Theodosius II	Titus
Salonina	Susa, Soldiers' Relief, Lion	Idalion, statue of Melqart	Alexandria Troas, Psyche on a dromedary
Arsinoe III	Susa, Relief with the sacrifice of goat	Rhodes, Mycenaean jar with a bull (LH IIIa2)	Hadrumetum, Sanctuary of Baal Hammon, Punic stela with three baetyls
Antinoopolis, Coptic textile, Nilotic scene (including nilometer)	Aššur, Annals of Tikulti-Ninurta II	Susa, Soldiers' Relief	The Azara herm
Palmyra, Tombstone of a priest	Achmim, Funerary stela of Pamim	Keki, the courtier	Sarcophagus with the body of Hector
Byzantine, Dromedary-shaped lamp	Alexandria, Tombstone of Longinus of II Traiana	Susa, Sasanian cup	Susa, Soldiers' Relief
Yemen, Dromedary pendant	Demetrius Poliorcetes	Geta	Khorsabad, Relief of rafts on a great river
Horus, Osiris, Isis	Khorsabad, Lion-taming spirit ("Gilgameš")	Susa, Apadana, Inscription DSf (Elamite)	Soknopaiou Nesos, Stele of Isis, Horus, and Cleopatra VII Philopator
Tyre, Hellenistic building inscription from Al-Ma'shook	Alexander IV	Apollonia, Relief to commemorate the battle of Actium	Ramesses IV
Antioch, Judgment of Paris	Ladjvard, Sasanian king, perhaps Peroz	Informal portrait of Sobekhotep IV	Relief of a scribe
Bishapur, Palace, Stucco apse	Susa, Stone fish	Khorsabad, Foundation Tablet	Achaemenid jar with representation of Bes
Susa, Middle-Elamite basrelief of warrior gods	Nimrud, Northwest Palace of Aššurnasirpal II, Foundation Inscription	Khorsabad, Relief of two courtiers	Bawit, Coptic church, Model
Upper part of the Codex of Hammurabi; taken from Babylon to Susa, it was excavated in what is now Iran.	Susa, Achaemenid administrative document	Susa, Dedication to Inšušinak	Greek plate with a picture of the Chimaera. Louvre, Paris (France)
The Azara herm	Bawit, Icon of Christ and St.Menas	Olympia, Temple of Zeus, Model	Portrait of a Roman man (CE 070-100)
Susa, Soldiers' Relief, Immortal, Counterweight of a spear	Coptic tunic	Persian nobleman; statue from Egypt	Byblos, Relief of a lion
Head of Croesus on a Greek vase	Susa, Treaty between Naram-Sin and Elam	Chalouf, Darius' DZb inscription	Megara, Figurine of two hoplites
Didia Clara	Susa, Temple of the Šutrukids, Inscription	Bottle from Tepe Hesar level II	Susa, Temple of the Šutrukids, Relief: the bull-man
Susa, Letter from Artabanus II, requesting the appointment of one Hecataeus as treasurer	Pompey the Great. Louvre, Paris (France)	Psammetichus I	Susa, Statue of queen Napirasu, wife of Untaš-Napiriša
Sphinx of king Siamun	Pharsalus, Funerary stela with a relief of a flower offering	Socrates	Montuhotep II wearing the red deshret crown
Demetrius I Poliorcetes	Shabaqo	Statuette of a hippopotamus	Tayma, Nabataean votive stela
Ptolemy XII Auletes	Athens, Heliaia, Allotment plate	Alexandria, Alexander the Great as City Founder	Antonia Minor
Mithridates VI Eupator of Pontus	Apollonia, Relief of two hoplites	Khorsabad, Relief of Sargon and Sennacherib	Nectanebo I, wearing the crown of Upper Egypt
Messalina	Oea, Punic sphinx	Ptolemy X Alexander	Sippar, Cylinder with a building inscription from the reign of Hammurabi
Giza, Diner of Nefer	Khorsabad, Relief of Sargon and Sennacherib, king Sargon	Bowl from Tepe Hesar I	Cleopatra II or III as Isis
Rhodes, Head-shaped aryballos	Julia Mamaea	Nineveh, Palace of Aššurbanipal, Relief of Arbela	Susa, Rim of a cup with the name of Xerxes
Susa, Apadana, Capital	Smyrna, Diadumenianus	Wadi Miyah, Palmyrene triad: Aglibol (Moon), Ba'al Šamem (Lord of Heaven), and Malekbel (Sun)	Aelius Caesar
Beirut, Tombstone of Valerius Rufus of VII Claudia	Livia (Paris)	Athens, Black-figured dish with a Scythian archer	Fayyum, Coptic chalice
Susa, Soldiers' Relief	Julia Domna	Susa, Temple of the Šutrukids, Relief	Delos, Portrait of Alexander the Great
Senusret III	Susa, Battle axe	Edessa, Mosaic of a lady	Valerian Jr
Bawit, Portrait of a lady	Herodes Atticus	Drawing of Amenhotep I	Byblos, Temple of Baalat, Figurines
The Tyche of Antioch (figurine)	Ajax and Cassandra.	Matidia	Susa, Soldiers' Relief, Mythological creatures
Susa, Stone relief with a banquet scene	Utica, Oil lamp with a lion and a crocodile	Statuette of a Libyan	Ptolemy III Euergetes
Statuette of Raherka, inspector of the scribes, and his wife Merseanch	Byblos, Temple of Baalat, Figurine of a bull	Susa, Soldiers' Relief, Flowers	Susa, Soldiers' Relief with inscription DSm
Tayma, Aramaic funerary inscription	Assos, Temple of Athena, Relief of a symposium	Nimrud, Relief of an Anatolian fort	Assos, Temple of Athena, Relief of two bulls
Charlemagne	Crassus	Suovetaurilia	Susa, The Awan King List
Susa, Apadana, Inscription DSf (Old Persian)	Marib, Dedication to Almaqah	The Azara herm	The Azara herm
Moabite warrior god	Drawing of Ramesses VII	Aegis of Osorkon IV	Tepe Sialk, Pot from the fourth millennium BCE, decorated with an ibex
Susa, Stela of Adda-hamiti-Inšušinak	Susa, Funerary portrait	Agrippa Postumus	Arsinoe II
Esarhaddon and his mother attend the restoration of Babylon	Susa, Middle-Elamite model of a sun ritual	Corinth, Hoplite battle (Tydeus painter)	Ptolemy I Soter
Merenptah	Leo I	Susa, Soldiers' Relief	Taharqo venerating the falcon-god Hemen
Thelsae, Nabataean altar	Amulet of Darius	Dibon, Mesha Stela	Heraclius and Khusrau
Ptolemy XI Alexander, gold sealing ring	Ptolemy IV Philopator or Ptolemy VI Philometor	Sardes, Temple of Artemis, Relief of the "Mistress of the animals". (The archer partly visible to the right must be Heracles.)	Gladiator helmet
Sippar, Contract from the reign of Xerxes about a canal	Faustina II	Caere, Sarcophagus of the Spouses	Ugarit, Temple of Baal, Stele with the king of Ugarit in front of the god Baal Saphon
Alexander I Balas	Alexander, Statuette from Lower Egypt	Susa, Soldiers' Relief	Fragment of the sarcophagus of Sety II
Ugarit, Stele of the "smiting god"	Marib, Dedication to Almaqah, detail	Berenice II	Hermopolis, Portrait of a Cleopatra I, Cleopatra II, or Berenice III
Khorsabad, Iron tool	Ur, Foundation statuette of Amar-Sin	Pyla, Temple of Apollo, Portrait of a man	Domitian
Bishapur, Palace, Mosaic of a Dionysiac head	Dedication by Ilîmagud Mayfa	Baalbek, Mosaic of the Birth of Paris	Susa, Temple of the Šutrukids, Relief
Statuette of Bes, dedicated by Pakher, chancellor of king Psamtek I	Ostracon with a Coptic Writing Exercise (Thebaid)	Khorsabad, Relief of Sargon and Sennacherib, prince Sennacherib	Smyrna, Attalus II Philadelphus
Egypt, Byzantine textile, Erotes picking grapes	Antiochus III the Great	Bosra, Nabataean altar	King of the Eleventh/Twelfth Dynasty
Rhodes, Dish with a sphinx	Antiochus VI Dionysus	Lambaesis, Rules for the trumpetters of III Augusta	Vase painting of an archaic Greek galley
Susa, Soldiers' Relief, Sphinxes	Caere, Banditaccia necropolis, Wall painting of an archer	King Djedefra	Tayma, Relief of a sacrifical meal; Assyrian influence
Susa, Hellenistic or Parthian figurine of a harpist	Susa, Apadana, Inscription DSf (Babylonian)	Susa, Soldiers' Relief	Yemen, Relief of a bird eating grapes
Cyrene, Statue of Antinous	Fausta	Figurine of an Etruscan warrior	Kition, Figurine of a woman
Pupienus	Corbulo	Susa, Soldiers' Relief	Portrait of a man, third quarter of the first century CE (the so-called "Vitellius")
Idalion, orientalizing gold dish	Rome, S. Pietro, Sarcophagus with Christ as Lawgiver	Antinoopolis, Coptic textile, Praying man with candelaber and ankh	Yemen, Woman's head
Nefertiti and Akhenaten	Corinth, Small painting of Poseidon	Tayma, Dedication to Salm	Kition, Egyptianizing capital
Nicomedia, Hellenistic Funerary relief	Old Paphos, Epitaph of King Echetimus	Choga Zanbil, Ziggurat, Doorknobs (Paris)	Senusret III
The Albani Alexander	Utica, Funeral stela	Bishapur, Palace, Mosaic of a musician	Susa, Neo-Elamite decoration (dragon)
Justinian I (Barberini Ivory)	Sobekhotep IV	Osorkon I	Susa, Temple of the Šutrukids, Goddess
Cirta, Sanctuary of El-Hofra, Votive stela	Beirut, Christian phylacterium, invoking the protection of several celestial beings to protect one Alexandra	Apries	Seleucus I Nicator
Hadrumetum, Sanctuary of Baal Hammon, Punic stela	Mithridates V Euergetes	Susa, Silver rhyton	Babylonian map of the western Zagros. A road, a mountain, and a river are indicated.
Madaba, Funeral inscription of Itaybel	Nineveh, Palace of Aššurbanipal, Sumerian-Akkadian Dictionary	Saqqara, Serapeum, Relief of Isis and Nectanebo II	Cyprus, Bilingual Greek-Phoenician inscription
Furnos Minus, Christian funerary mosaic	Girsu, Tablet with a fragment of the Sumerian Creation Epic	Choga Zanbil, Model	Tayma, Taymanite inscription
Susa, Inscription of Nicocles	Tombstone of Iglum, son of Sa'adillat	Ptolemy IV Philopator	Cherchell, Inscription of Micipsa
Enkomi, Late Bronze pectoral with sphinxes	Boy with hoop and rooster	Gortyn, Inscription with laws	POWs being led away on an Akkadian victory stele
Agrippa	Artemis and Apollo killing the Niobids	The Azara herm	Coptic jar with decoration of a woman with wild animals
Susa, Soldiers' Relief with inscription	Khorsabad, Lamassu	Rhodes, Mycenaean cup (LH IIIa2)	Lagash, Vulture Stele, Sumerian phalanx
Cartouche of Osorkon I	Susa, Stela of Šutruru	Susa, Soldiers' Relief, Lion	Statues of Sekhmet
Rhagae, Dancers on a piece of pottery	Eshnunna, Relief of Ištar	Sippar, Victory stela of Naram-Sin	Susa, Gold plate with royal warrior
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