Page 131 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Paris

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Cenestian Couple, who appear Many of these precious objects
as though they are attending were in the Abbey of St-Denis,
an eternal banquet. where the kings of France were
The sculptures in the Roman crowned. Long before the
section demonstrate the great Revolution, a regular flow of
debt owed to the art of ancient visitors had made it something
Greece. There are many fine of a museum. After the
pieces: a bust of Agrippa, a Revolution, all the objects were
basalt head of Livia, the wife of removed and presented to the
Augustus, and a splendid, nation. Much was lost or stolen
powerful bronze head of during the move but what
Emperor Hadrian from the 2nd remains is still outstanding.
century AD. This has the look of The treasures include a
a true portrait, unlike so many serpentine stone plate from
Imperial heads which are the 1st century AD with a 9th-
uninspired and impersonal. century border of gold and
precious stones. (The plate itself
is inlaid with eight golden dol-
phins.) There is also a porphyry
vase which Suger, Abbot of The Eagle of Suger (mid-12th century)
St-Denis, had mounted in gold
in the shape of an eagle, and Isaac de Camondo. On display
the golden sceptre made for are important pieces by excep-
King Charles V in about 1380. tionally prominent furniture-
The French crown jewels makers such as André-Charles
include the coronation crowns Boulle, cabinet-maker to Louis
of Louis XV and Napoleon, XIV, who worked at the Louvre
sceptres, swords and other in the late 17th to mid-18th
accessories of the corona- centuries. He is noted for his
tion ceremonies. Also on technique of inlaying copper
view is the Regent, one and tortoiseshell. From a later
of the purest diamonds in date, the curious inlaid steel and
the world. It was bought bronze writing desk, created by
in 1717 and worn by Louis Adam Weisweiler for Queen
Squatting Scribe (Egyptian, about 2500 BC) XV at his coronation in 1722. Marie-Antoinette in 1784, is one
One whole room is taken up of the more unusual pieces in
Decorative Arts with a series of tapestries called the museum’s collection.
the Hunts of Maximilian, which In 2012, the Islamic Art
The term objets d’art (art were originally executed for Department opened in the Cour
objects) covers a vast range of Emperor Charles V in 1530 after Visconti I with around 18,000
“decorative art” objects: from drawings by Bernard Van Orley. objects on display covering
jewellery, silver and glassware, The large collection of French 3,000 years of history from three
to French and Italian bronzes, furniture ranges from the 16th continents. The museum also
porcelain, snuffboxes and to the 19th centuries and is recently installed decorative
armour. The Louvre has well assembled by period, or in rooms art galleries dedicated to art
over 8,000 items, from many devoted to donations by distin- objects from the reign of Louis
ages and regions. guished collectors such as XIV and the 18th century.
The Glass Pyramid
Plans for the modernization and expansion
of the Louvre were first conceived in 1981.
They included the transfer of the Ministry of
Finance from the Richelieu wing of the Louvre
to offices elsewhere, and a new main
entrance to the museum. A Chinese-
American architect, I M Pei, was chosen to
design the changes. He designed the pyramid
as both the focal point and entrance to the
Louvre. Made out of glass, it enables the
visitor to see the historic buildings that
surround it while allowing light down into the
underground visitors’ reception area.

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