L'Eau primordiale - Leçons de Mésopotamie
Published by Musée du Louvre
- From wednesday, may 20 to monday, march 15, 2027
- 9:00 AM-6:00 PM
- Musée du Louvre Place du Carrousel, 75001 Paris, France
Info
The Louvre offers an exhibition route through its Oriental Antiquities collections devoted to the place of water in Mesopotamian societies. In the Richelieu and Sully wings, the works allow visitors to follow what the Tigris and Euphrates made possible, from the irrigation of lands to the organization of life around the rivers. They also show what these waterways have given rise to in the narratives and beliefs.
Irrigating involves capturing, conveying, and distributing water. The first hydraulic works mentioned in the visit transformed the territories and the relations among their inhabitants. The route places this work alongside the narratives of floods and deluges, where this same water can threaten the societies that depend on it.
In the statue of Gudea with the overflowing vase, the prince of Lagash holds before him a vessel from which water pours. The figure links river management to their representation. The two approaches sit side by side in the halls, where mastery of water is also read in the images that the Mesopotamians left behind.
In the halls, a series of lecterns offers another reading of certain works. Their texts and illustrations were produced by fifteen classes that worked with the museum. They extend the route by echoing ancient questions with those that students ask themselves today.
Promoter
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Musée du Louvre@museedulouvre
Venue
Musée du Louvre
Place du Carrousel, 75001 Paris, France