The Guardian of Egyptian Art The Crypt of the Sphinx

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Neat Sphinx of Tanis Room 338, Sully wing, Level -ane

An enigmatic half-homo, half-animal creature with the body of a lion and the face of a king stands guard at the archway to the Louvre's Department of Egyptian Antiquities. Deep down in the crypt, the Great Sphinx of Tanis welcomes visitors to a vast brandish of over 6,000 works spanning almost five,000 years of Egyptian history.

Champollion at the Louvre

The first Egyptian museum, comprising four 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 drove expanded quickly, thanks in particular to an agreement with the Egyptian authorities to split up excavation finds. The collection owned by the Musée Charles X has long since extended beyond its borders; the Department of Egyptian Antiquities occupies two levels in today'due south Louvre.

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Statues of the goddess Sekhmet (Le Temple) Room 324, Sully wing, Level 0

Life in ancient Arab republic of egypt

The first rooms innovate the principal characteristics of ancient Egyptian culture, beginning with the Nile and its annual flood, which ensured plentiful crops. Monumental Egyptian compages is represented by the 'mastaba' tomb of Akhethotep. The visit continues with a room devoted to hieroglyphs, then moves on to daily life in aboriginal Egypt, illustrated by artefacts, furniture, clothing and jewellery. The temple room and the collection of sarcophagi call up the importance the ancient Egyptians fastened to faith and funerary practices.

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Crypt of Osiris Room 323, Sully Wing, Left -i

v,000 years of history

The displays on Level one accept a historical and creative approach with an overview of near 5,000 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 III, Nefertiti, Akhenaton and Ramesses 2.

Ancient Egyptian masterpieces

In today'due south Louvre, the Department of Egyptian Antiquities occupies ii floors. On the lower level, you will discover a themed display on daily lives of Aboriginal Egyptians and on the upper level, yous will find a chronological brandish on Ancient Egypt, from prehistory to the Ptolemaic Period.

  • Bang-up Sphinx of Tanis

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Inside a mastaba tomb

Mastaba chapel of Akhethotep Room 333, Sully wing, Level 0

A celebrity scribe

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The Seated Scribe (particular) Room 635, Sully wing, Level 1

The Seated Scribe

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