Cyprus at the Louvre

For the very first time, the Department of Near Eastern Antiquities hosts 16 pieces on loan from the Department of Antiquities in Cyprus from the Deputy Ministry of Culture of Cyprus in its Cypriot archaeology rooms, augmented by an original digital experience.

With the help of some of Cyprus’s most iconic artworks, such as the idols made from picrolite from the Troodos Mountains or an inscribed copper ingot found in one of the sanctuaries of Enkomi, visitors will learn about the production, trade and cultural exchanges that emerged on the island during the Chalcolithic period and the Bronze Age.

Splendid archaic votive sculptures in terracotta, discovered at Ayia Irini by the Swedish mission in the 1930s, enter into a dialogue with the limestone ex-votos unearthed at Golgoi by the Comte de Vogüé mission in the 1860s. The two Hathoric capitals in the Louvre serve as the focal point to highlight recent research on this ‘Great Goddess’. The god Asklepios of Paphos will be presented alongside an exceptionally rich collection of ex-votos, emphasising the role of Cyprus in the history of medical practice.

As the works from the Cypriot collection act as ambassadors to the Louvre’s own pieces, visitors will follow along a trail of sight and sound enriched with poems by George Seferis and Konstantinos Kavafis as well as Cypriot songs.

With this presentation, both material and immaterial, the Louvre celebrates the richness of Cypriot culture throughout time on the occasion of the Cypriot presidency of the Council of the European Union.

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Curatorship

George Papasavvas and Artemis Georgiou (University of Cyprus) and Hélène Le Meaux (Musée du Louvre).

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Acknowledgements

The exhibition is organised by the Musée du Louvre as part of the Cultural Programme of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2026.