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THE MAGAZINE INSIDE THE MUSEUM IN PARTNERSHIP WITH 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 F 114 GAZETTE DROUOT INTERNATIONAL I N° 19 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.