Oui! Je parle Français, un peu

Yesterday I finally got around to seeing the marvellous exhibition, Egyptian Antiquities from the Louvre, at the National Gallery. Because it finishes very soon, I was afraid I had left it a bit late and would face horrific crowds, but it turned out to be okay, plenty of people but certainly enough room to move.



My knowledge about the ancient Egyptians was really pretty hazy, and I found this exhibition fascinating and informative. There was lots of information to read, which I always love to see, with introductions to each room, and specific stories/detail relating to many of the items. Now that I think about it, it was more of a museum show than an art show, though I don't think there is a hard and fast line between the two.

Highlights included a mummified cat, a stone sarcophagus, painted wooden mummy cases, a papyrus Book of the Dead spanning three walls of a big room, and several amazingly detailed bronze sculptures. I especially loved two ornate spoons (one pictured above).

As a bonus, since the show is entirely from the Louvre, all the descriptions of the items were written in French as well as English. So I made a point of reading all of them, noting a few new words and phrases, and called it a study session as well. Très bon.