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

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