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

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