The Guardian of Egyptian Art The Crypt of the Sphinx

illustration

An enigmatic one-half-homo, half-creature brute with the body of a lion and the face of a rex stands guard at the entrance to the Louvre's Department of Egyptian Antiquities. Deep downwards in the crypt, the Great Sphinx of Tanis welcomes visitors to a vast display of over 6,000 works spanning near v,000 years of Egyptian history.

Champollion at the Louvre

The beginning Egyptian museum, comprising 4 rooms, opened at the Louvre in 1827. Jean-François Champollion, the French scholar who deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphs in 1822, founded and directed this museum with a view to spreading knowledge of this mysterious civilisation that had long fascinated Europeans. The science of Egyptology was born and the museum's collection expanded speedily, thank you in particular to an agreement with the Egyptian government to divide excavation finds. The collection owned by the Musée Charles 10 has long since extended across its borders; the Department of Egyptian Antiquities occupies 2 levels in today'south Louvre.

illustration

Life in ancient Egypt

The get-go rooms introduce the primary characteristics of ancient Egyptian civilisation, beginning with the Nile and its annual inundation, which ensured plentiful crops. Monumental Egyptian compages is represented by the 'mastaba' tomb of Akhethotep. The visit continues with a room devoted to hieroglyphs, and then moves on to daily life in ancient Arab republic of egypt, illustrated by artefacts, furniture, habiliment and jewellery. The temple room and the collection of sarcophagi recall the importance the ancient Egyptians attached to faith and funerary practices.

illustration

v,000 years of history

The displays on Level one take a historical and artistic approach with an overview of nearly v,000 years of Egyptian art. Highlights include the famous Seated Scribe with his bright-eyed gaze, and the statues of kings and queens including Sesostris III, Ahmose Nefertari, Hatshepsut, Amenophis 3, Nefertiti, Akhenaton and Ramesses Ii.

Ancient Egyptian masterpieces

In today'south Louvre, the Department of Egyptian Antiquities occupies ii floors. On the lower level, you volition find a themed brandish on daily lives of Ancient Egyptians and on the upper level, y'all volition find a chronological display on Ancient Egypt, from prehistory to the Ptolemaic Catamenia.

  • Not bad Sphinx of Tanis

Did you know?

Inside a mastaba tomb

The mere mention of Tutankhamun conjures upwards the almost mystical aura surrounding the discovery of aboriginal Egyptian tombs! Our nowadays cognition of ancient Egypt is primarily derived from the study of those tombs and of their ornament and effects. During the Old Kingdom (2700–2200 BC), members of the king'southward circle were entitled to be buried in an elaborate mastaba – a massive structure built over a shaft leading down to an underground chamber, where the mummy of the deceased lay in a sarcophagus. The superstructure in a higher place the shaft contained a funerary chapel, where offerings were made to the deceased.
The mastaba of Akhethotep was purchased from the Egyptian government in 1903 and reconstructed in the Louvre, stone by stone. The chapel decoration features painted low-relief carvings with hieroglyphic inscriptions – a treasure trove of information on daily life in ancient Egypt, plants and animals, rural life in the Nile valley and farm work throughout the year!

A glory scribe

The cantankerous-legged figure known equally the 'Seated Scribe' and depicted in the procedure of writing is a masterpiece of Egyptian art. The exceptional quality of the statue indicates that it represented a high dignitary. The Scribe's fame is due in great role to his compelling gaze: his eyes are inlaid with rock crystal and seem to sparkle with life. Come and see for yourself: if you go on your eye on him as you lot walk around the display case, you'll go a sense that he's watching you lot as well!

illustration

The Seated Scribe

YouTube content is currently blocked. Delight modify your cookie settings to enable this content.

For children

Itineraries, videos and more – lots of means to acquire more near Ancient Egypt as a family!

More than to explore