Louvre

Introduction

A little bit of history

Louvre figures and vandals

Schedules, prices, passes

Fast Louvre

Oriental antiquities

Greek, Etruscan, Roman

French painting section

Flemish painting section

More foreign paint section

Italian painting section

Sculpture section

Paris-Louvre-Oriental antiquities

Paris main page

Paris dining world!!!!

Book a Paris hotel on line

In fact, to have a good picture visit for the Louvre the site www.louvre.fr  is well indicated. I cannot beat the quality and comments and pictures. What I could do is to add sometimes a personal view, comment or remark.
Just take your time, if you have time of course! And I will to enumerate all since why should I enumerate artists that nobody likes?

Oriental Antiquities:

It is an almost complete panorama of ancient civilisations of Minor Asia that is displayed in this department.
Let’s start at the ground floor level in the eastern part of the Richelieu wing, which is accessible by 2 escalators.

Ebih-iI

A particularly rich section is the one dedicate to archaic Mesopotamia, Sumer and Akkad, around the cour "Khorsabad"  (galleries 1 to 6) and further on, the Iranian (galleries 7 to 10).”Stele des" vautours” (Vulture stele) from 2450 BC, an alabaster small statue from Mari,master piece of the Sumerian inspiration: it is dedicated to the goddess Ishtar, intendant of EBIH-Il with eyes set with lapis-lazuli.

See also one of the most precious of this department as well of the museum, a basalt stele where the firstlaws of humanity were engraved: the Hammourabi Code..not only an art work but of first historical importance.  Other works are varied: tapestries (of which the Persian tapestry called " de Mantes", gallery 11), textiles, arms, miniatures, ceramics, glasswork and art objects, and numerous small statues of Goudea. 

In October 97 the Sackler wing opened with the Oriental Antiques (Sully wing at ground level from room 10 up). Also 13 new galleries opened as a continuation of the Iranian circuit (which starts in the Richelieu aisle) with Iran from the Iron Age, the Levant countries, Arabia before Islam, Cyprus, etc.. The must of the Oriental Antiques is the statue discovered at Ain Ghazal (Jordania), dating 7000 B.C. and lent to the Louvre for 30 years by the Hachemite kingdom. Height 1.05 meters it presents a funny modern attitude, relaxed, cool, hands in the pockets, a slight irony in the expression.

Winged bull

The summit of the visit is in the cour "Khorsabad" itself, evoking the entrance of the palace of the Assyrian king Sargon II is. Vestiges testifying the impressive power of Assyrian civilization, from the 9th to the 7th century BC are mostly spectacular, like the two original bulls guard the passage. Notice! They have five paws.

Sargon II

You can look at them as well as face to face as from profile!  Elements of the décor of the palaces of Nimroud, Ninive and especially Khorsabad evoke the great-armed feats of theses building kings especially Sargon II, represented here in his function of supreme administrator, instructing his minister.
From the Syro-Phenician region, a few monuments: the “Mithreum” of Sidon or the pretty ensemble of palmyrean sculptures are from the Roman period, others contemporary of the Persian domination, like the Sidon sarcophagus.

Bibliography:

The Louvre, Seven Faces of a Museum; The Louvre (Collection Guides Gallimard); The Louvre-the Museum-the Collections-the New Spaces (Connaissances des Arts); Louvre, la visite, Pierre Qouniam (Reunion des Musees nationaux)