BSS&A 2026 IN FRANCE

ANCIENT EGYPT IN PARIS: EXPLORING THE EGYPTIAN COLLECTION AT THE LOUVRE

Course Director: Dr Luigi Prada (Uppsala University)

The Egyptian Department at the Louvre Museum (Département des Antiquités Égyptiennes du Louvre) in Paris constitutes one of the world’s largest and finest collections of Egyptian antiquities. Opened to the public almost two centuries ago, in 1827, under the direction of Jean-François Champollion, famed decipherer of Egyptian hieroglyphs, its own history is intimately intertwined with that of Egyptology itself. Following the success of “BSS&A in Europe” with its first Egyptological instalment at Turin’s Museo Egizio, this course will offer a combination of lectures and visits to the Louvre, spread across two days. Participants will be introduced to the history of the collection in the wider context of the evolution of Egyptology, from its origins rooted in 19th-century European colonialism to its transformations during the 20th century, and down to the present. Selected masterpieces from the collection will be discussed, along an ideal timeline of ancient Egypt’s history, in preparation for our in-person guided visit to the Museum’s galleries.