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The East Mediterranean in the Roman Empire
or the first time ever at the Musée du Louvre,
objects have been brought together in the
same space that up till now were divided
between three different departments: the
Department of Near Eastern Antiquities, the
Department of Egyptian Antiquities and the Department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities, which,
since they first opened, have taken in Roman and
Byzantine collections from the Near East and Egypt.
Acquisitions through donations or purchases were
often made according to stylistic criteria. Thus the most
Hellenistic works were sent to the Department of Greek,
Etruscan and Roman Antiquities without taking provenance into account, and those strongly marked by
particularities, iconographies and local styles to the
other two departments, depending on their geographical provenance: Egypt or the Near East. Digs in the
19th and 20th centuries contributed a great deal to
enlarging these collections, and the links forged
between a number of archaeologists and departments
of antiquities in this way played a considerable role in
the division of archaeological material within the
Musée du Louvre. The idea of bringing these collections together was first mooted in the Eighties, during
the renovation of the rooms as part of the Grand
Louvre project. 1997 saw the inauguration of the
Roman Egypt funerary gallery and the Coptic rooms in
two wings in the Cour Visconti, but the project could
not be completed. Three years ago, Henri Loyrette,
President-Director of the Musée du Louvre, decided to
revive this project in coordination with the installation
of new rooms dedicated to Islamic art in the Cour
Visconti. It was then decided to choose works from
geographical areas corresponding to the Eastern
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provinces of the Roman Empire – present-day Turkey,
Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Jordan and Egypt –,
making it possible to retrace the development of societies and art in literate and Hellenised populations long
before the imperial conquest, after the conquests of
Alexander the Great (334-323 BC). The first section of
the exhibition showcases objects from the 1st century
BC to the end of the 4th century AD, i.e. from the
annexation of Egypt by Octavian after the Battle of
Actium in 31 BC, to the division of the Roman Empire at
the death of the Emperor Theodosius in 395 AD into
the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman
Empire. The second section begins with this split: the
Eastern Roman Empire was then governed by emperors, and its capital was Constantinople, a new Rome
founded by the first Christian emperor, Constantine
(307-337) and which, under the Greek name Byzantium,
gave rise to the Byzantine Empire. During this period,
the political unity of the Mediterranean Basin resulted
in the spread of joint forms of organisation, marked in
the eastern provinces by the use of the Greek tongue
and lifestyle. The Hellenistic influence was superimposed on ancient traditions deeply rooted in the lives
of populations as varied as those of the Near Eastern
regions and Egypt. This acculturation phenomenon
can be clearly seen in the works exhibited. The emergence and spread of Christianity constituted a particular feature of Roman history that led to the creation
Entrance door to the south church of the monastery of Bawit
Middle Egypt. 6th – 7th century AD.
Limestone and wood, Department of Egyptian Antiquities.