After the British Museum, the Louvre must be one of the world's greatest collections of art and artefacts. The British Museum retains its edge on account of its free entry and general lack of queues, but the Louvre scores bonus points for its spectacular architecture.
There are currently two major exhibitions running at the Louvre, one on the Chinese Emperors, and a second on Macedonian art. As luck would have it, I am dipping into a book on the strategies of Alexander the Great, and so the latter exhibition was the obvious choice given the limited amount of time available and the museum's unwillingness to part with free tickets even after I'd asked for a press pass.
The exhibition, which displays nearly 500 artefacts, is extensive but organised in an accessible fashion. A large mosaic fills the entrance room, and this is followed by an area explaining the key excavations of Macedonia and exhibiting some of the works that they unearthed. Unlike in Greece, professional digs in Macedonia began relatively late, and significant discoveries have been made even within the last decade.
Perhaps because of their recent discovery, the large-format photographs on the walls show sites that are not only well-preserved over time but appear to have been little damaged by their excavation. Tombs belonging to close family members of Alexander the Great appear simply to have been shut up and left: the painting remains clear on the wall and many of the funereal goods look untouched.
In this early part of the exhibition, my favourite artefacts are the bronze helmets found, I think, amongst the tombs. Perhaps never worn in life, these helmets are perfectly preserved and scarcely event dented: one could be forgiven for thinking they are reconstructions. Some of the helmets are decorated with gold, revered for its purity and the belief it could preserve a body even after death, though others are more simple in design.
Elsewhere in the exhibition are a large number of stone sculptures (including busts), some wonderful coloured glassware (always a favourite of mine) and, of course, gold jewellery and other precious items. There is a notable similarity between the items displayed here and those in the recent Afghan exhibition, Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World, at the British Museum, including wonderful gold headdresses. This is a further reminder that the influence Greece (or, specifically in this case, Macedon) had on the art, culture and everyday life of the territories it conquered infiltrated all areas of society and continued to be felt even centuries after the invaders had gone.
There are currently two major exhibitions running at the Louvre, one on the Chinese Emperors, and a second on Macedonian art. As luck would have it, I am dipping into a book on the strategies of Alexander the Great, and so the latter exhibition was the obvious choice given the limited amount of time available and the museum's unwillingness to part with free tickets even after I'd asked for a press pass.
The exhibition, which displays nearly 500 artefacts, is extensive but organised in an accessible fashion. A large mosaic fills the entrance room, and this is followed by an area explaining the key excavations of Macedonia and exhibiting some of the works that they unearthed. Unlike in Greece, professional digs in Macedonia began relatively late, and significant discoveries have been made even within the last decade.
Perhaps because of their recent discovery, the large-format photographs on the walls show sites that are not only well-preserved over time but appear to have been little damaged by their excavation. Tombs belonging to close family members of Alexander the Great appear simply to have been shut up and left: the painting remains clear on the wall and many of the funereal goods look untouched.
In this early part of the exhibition, my favourite artefacts are the bronze helmets found, I think, amongst the tombs. Perhaps never worn in life, these helmets are perfectly preserved and scarcely event dented: one could be forgiven for thinking they are reconstructions. Some of the helmets are decorated with gold, revered for its purity and the belief it could preserve a body even after death, though others are more simple in design.
Elsewhere in the exhibition are a large number of stone sculptures (including busts), some wonderful coloured glassware (always a favourite of mine) and, of course, gold jewellery and other precious items. There is a notable similarity between the items displayed here and those in the recent Afghan exhibition, Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World, at the British Museum, including wonderful gold headdresses. This is a further reminder that the influence Greece (or, specifically in this case, Macedon) had on the art, culture and everyday life of the territories it conquered infiltrated all areas of society and continued to be felt even centuries after the invaders had gone.
I was not allowed to take photos whilst inside the exhibition. Images and more information about the exhibition can, however, be found by following this link to the Louvre´s own website:
http://www.louvre.fr/llv/exposition/detail_exposition.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198674214326&CURRENT_LLV_EXPO%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198674214326&pageId=0&bmLocale=en 
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