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

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