Paris, Louvre

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 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 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 galery 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 rcently 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 diploma’s, 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.

263 pictures related to this museum

Shabaqo	Informal portrait of Sobekhotep IV	Bottle from Tepe Hesar level II	Antiochus III the Great
The counterweight of a spear	Pompey the Great. Louvre, Paris (France)	Seleucus I Nicator	Esarhaddon and his mother attend the restoration of Babylon
Tayma, Dedication to Salm	Saba, the Arab warrior Mushayqat Hamayat ibn Yusuf on a dromedary	Herodes Atticus	Khorsabad, Relief of rafts on a great river
Cirta, Sanctuary of El-Hofra, Votive stela	The body of Hector	Ugarit, Temple of Baal, Stele with the king of Ugarit in front of the god Baal Saphon	Ramesses VII
Statue of queen Napirasu, wife of Untaš-Napiriša	Statuette of an Etruscan warrior	Rhodes, Head-shaped aryballos	Flower offering on a funeral stela from Pharsalus
Funeral inscription of Itaybel	Susa, Soldiers' Relief, lion	Susa, DSf (Old Persian)	The "Mistress of the animals": slab from the original temple of Artemis. The archer partly visible to the right must be Heracles
Drawing of Amenhotep I	Boy with hoop and rooster	Caere, Sarcophagus of the Spouses	Justinian (Barberini Ivory)
Cleopatra VII in Egyptian style	Tyre, Hellenistic building inscription from Al-Ma'shook	A Sumerian phalanx on the Vulture Stele from Lagash	Mithridates VI Eupator of Pontus
Nineveh, Palace of Aššurbanipal, Relief of Arbela	Head of Croesus on a Greek vase	Antinous	Charlemagne
Cyprus, bilingual inscription	Tyche (figurine)	Sphinx with the portrait of king Siamun	Thelsae, Nabataean altar
Temple of the Šutrukids, relief	POWs being led away on an Akkadian victory stele	Susa, DSf (Babylonian)	Letter from Artabanus II, requesting the appointment of one Hecataeus as treasurer
Isis and Nectanebo II (Serapeum, Saqqara)	Ptolemy II Philadelphus	Susa, Soldiers' Relief, lion	Temple of Athena, relief, bulls
Mosaic of a musician	Arsinoe II	Persian nobleman; statue from Egypt	Statuette of a Libyan
Theodosius II	Funerary portrait	The Azara herm	Khorsabad, Relief of two courtiers
Relief with the sacrifice of goat	Yemen, Woman's head	Corinth, Small painting of Poseidon	Sallustia Orbiana
The Azara herm	Yemen, Dromedary pendant	Olympia, Temple of Zeus, Model	Statuette of Raherka, inspector of the scribes, and his wife Merseanch
Susa, Soldiers' Relief	Pittacus	Utica, Funeral stela	Titus
Agrippa Postumus	Geta	Pupienus	Apries
Hellenistic or Parthian figurine of a harpist	The Azara herm	Upper part of the Codex of Hammurabi; taken from Babylon to Susa, it was excavated in what is now Iran.	Eretria, Two-headed phial
Susa, Soldiers' Relief	Artemis and Apollo killing the Niobids	Demetrius Poliorcetes	Keki, the courtier
The Azara herm	King of the Eleventh/Twelfth Dynasty	Antonia Minor	Nectanebo I wearing the war crown
Senusret III	Ptolemy IV Philopator	Enkomi, Late Bronze pectoral with sphinxes	Timna, Dedication by Rathad'il
Nimrud, Northwest Palace of Aššurnasirpal II, Foundation Inscription	Heraclius and Khusrau	Sherd from the fourth millennium BCE	Antioch, Judgment of Paris
Valerian Jr	Portrait of a Roman man (CE 070-100)	Stele of the "smiting god" from Ugarit.	Figurine from Bactria
Portait of a priest	Dedication to Inšušinak	Didia Clara	Roman officer
The Azara herm	Inscription of Nicocles	Temple of the Šutrukids, inscription	Amasis
Caere, Banditaccia necropolis, Wall painting of an archer	Ptolemy I Soter	Cleopatra II or III as Isis	Relief of a scribe
Susa, Apadana, capital	Aegis of Osorkon IV	Julia Mamaea	Dedication by Ilîmagud Mayfa
Tombstone of Iglum, son of Sa'adillat	Tydeus painter, Hoplite battle	An Egyptian poem about the battle of Kadesh	Nectanebo I, wearing the crown of Upper Egypt
Babylonian map of the western Zagros. A road, a mountain, and a river are indicated.	King Djedefra	Statuette of Bes, dedicated by Pakher, chancellor of king Psamtek I	Achaemenid administrative document
Dionysiac head	Old Paphos, Epitaph of King Echetimus	Mask of a Sumerian	Cherchell, Inscription of Micipsa
Moabite warrior god	Suovetaurilia	Scythian archer on an Athenian dish	The Awan King List
Alexander the Great. Portrait from Delos	Idalion, statue of Melqart	Rhodes, Bull on a Mycenaean jar (LH IIIa2)	Fausta
Vase painting of an archaic Greek galley	Bosra, Nabataean altar	Psamtek I	The Albani Alexander
Agrippa	Ptolemy III Euergetes	Temple of Athena, relief, Triton	Battle axe
Alexander IV	Osorkon I	Susa, Silver rhyton	Carthage, Christian funerary mosaic
Merenptah	Ptolemy X Alexander	Temple of the Šutrukids, relief	Punic sphinx
Annius Verus	Marib, Dedication to Almaqah, detail	Susa, DSf (Elamite)	Stele of Šutruru
Portrait of a man from the Temple of Apollo in Pyla	Alexander the Great as founder of Alexandria	Taharqo venerating the falcon-god Hemen	Akhenaten and Nefertiti
Yemen, Relief of a bird eating grapes	Greek plate with a picture of the Chimaera. Louvre, Paris (France)	Giza, Diner of Nefer	Socrates
Rhodes, Mycenaean cup (LH IIIa2)	Messalina	Salonina	Nicomedia, Hellenistic Funerary relief
Susa, Soldiers' Relief	Stele of Isis, Horus, and Cleopatra VII Philopator	Susa, neo-Elamite decoration	Imperator inscription (EDCS-05600393)
Khorsabad, Iron tool	Aššur, Annals of Tikulti-Ninurta II	Statuette of a hippopotamus	Horus, Osiris, Isis (from the reign of Osorkon II)
Sobekhotep IV	Doorknobs from Choga Zanbil (Paris)	Susa, Soldiers' Relief, flowers	Ramesses IV
A Christian phylacterium, invoking the protection of several celestial beings to protect one Alexandra	Aglibol (Moon), Ba'al Šamem (Lord of Heaven), and Malekbel (Sun)	Susa, Soldiers' Relief, sphinxes	Mosaic of man dressed as an ostrich
Alexander, statuette from Lower Egypt	Immortal (Susa)	Nineveh, Palace of Aššurbanipal, Sumerian-Akkadian Dictionary	Sasanian cup
Relief of an Anatolian fort (from the Assyrian city Nimrud)	A Ptolemaic queen (Cleopatra I, Cleopatra II or Berenice III)	Tayma, Taymanite inscription	Khorsabad, Foundation Tablet
Ptolemy XII Auletes	Ajax and Cassandra.	Faustina II	Mosaic of the Birth of Paris
Rhodes, Dish with a sphinx	Susa, Soldiers' Relief	Senusret III	Sasanian king, perhaps Peroz
King Sargon II (right) and his crown prince Sennacherib (left)	Marib, Dedication to Almaqah	Sobekhotep IV	Leo I
Portrait of a man, third quarter of the first century CE (the so-called "Vitellius")	Matidia	Darius' DZb inscription	Arsinoe III
Idalion, orientalizing gold dish	Susa, Soldiers' Relief, mythological creatures	Byblos, Temple of Baalat, Figurines	Megara, Figurine of two hoplites
Rim of a cup with the name of Xerxes	Middle-Elamite basrelief of warrior gods	Apollonia, Relief of two hoplites	Amulet of Darius
Susa, weight from Didyma	Demetrius Poliorcetes	Utica, Oil lamp	Susa, Soldiers' Relief
Temple of Athena, relief, symposium	Apollonia, Relief to commemorate the battle of Actium	Kition, Statuette of a woman	Stele of Adda-hamiti-Inšušinak
Cartouche of Osorkon I	Susa, Soldiers' Relief with inscription	Gortyn, Inscription with laws	Rome, S. Pietro, Sarcophagus with Christ as Lawgiver
Smyrna, Diadumenianus	Khorsabad, Lion-taming spirit ("Gilgameš")	Smyrna, Honorific decree for an officer of VI Ferrata	A bowl from Tepe Hesar I
Dancers on a very ancient piece of pottery from Rhagae	Ptolemy XI Alexander, gold sealing ring	The Mesha Stela	Temple of the Šutrukids, goddess
Stone relief with a banquet scene	Berenice II	Julia Domna	Byblos, Relief of a lion
Tablet from Girsu with a fragment of a Sumerian Creation Epic	Livia	Statues of Sekhmet	Model of a tower
Utica, Oil lamp	Susa, Soldiers' Relief	Susa, Soldiers' Relief	Fragment of the sarcophagus of Sety II
Stone fish	Rules for the trumpetters of III Augusta (EDCS-11000956)	Susa, Soldiers' Relief	Temple of the Šutrukids, relief: the bull-man
Khorsabad, Lamassu	Ptolemy IV Philopator or Ptolemy VI Philometor	Susa, Soldiers' Relief with inscription	Pot from the fourth millennium BCE
Middle-Elamite model of a sun ritual	Byblos, Temple of Baalat, Figurine of a bull	Gold plate with royal warrior	Treaty between Naram-Sin and Elam
Corbulo	Ugarit, Alphabet tablet	Crassus	A stucco apse
Kition, Egyptianizing capital	Montuhotep II wearing the red deshret crown	Aelius Caesar