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The exhibition

In the Ancient Egyptian language, “The Gates of Heaven” meant the doors of a sanctuary housing the statue of a divinity. Symbolizing the passageway into the afterworld, this expression also applies to other points of contact between the different elements of the universe as conceived by the Egyptians.

This exhibition offers a journey through the myriad worlds to which the gates of heaven granted, or barred, access, the heavens being both the visible sky as seen from the earth and the dimension of the universe reserved for the divine. Containing about 350 artefacts spanning three millennia, from the Old Kingdom to the Roman Period, the exhibition endeavours to place everyday objects in their social, religious and artistic context. In the process, it demonstrates the diversity and adaptability to change of an art that is often described as repetitive. The works from the Louvre's collection are presented alongside objects from the largest Egyptian collections in Europe. The questions posed at the heart of "The Gates of Heaven" together with the findings from the latest Egyptological research call into question many of the received ideas that continue to dominate university textbooks and popular historical works. This exhibition invites visitors to adopt a fresh perspective on the Egypt familiar to us for so long. 

This exhibition on ancient Egypt focuses on particular sites (all centred on the theme of the sanctuary) through the images in which they are reproduced, images conveyed on the objects that could be found in the actual and virtual sites described. Four of these sites are profiled, unaltered during the 5,000 years of Egyptian civilization covered by the exhibition. Each site generated its own vocabulary of shapes and signs, which could then find its way into other spaces. The objects on view date from periods ranging from the Old Kingdom to Roman times.

In order to grasp the issues raised by the exhibition, visitors need to immerse themselves in the Egyptian mindset, characterized by a fascinating and remarkably supple mental universe. Melding images in ways that often beggar logic, Egyptians linked material elements with  a realm inaccessible to humans, as reflected in both the title of the exhibition and the sanctuary itself, which is both a product of human hands and a vessel for the divine. The motifs developed in the sanctuary truly offer a material synthesis of time and space.

Over 300 works have been assembled for the exhibition, drawn primarily from the collections of the Louvre supplemented by some 70 masterworks from the greatest Egyptological collections in European museums.

The Total Foundation, partnering in efforts to expand the museum’s reach to the widest possible audience

Thanks to the Total Foundation, 1,000 people targeted by community aid programmes (community education, literacy, social integration, legal aid, health and social services, prevention, food aid, academic support, etc.) who have little contact with cultural institutions  will enjoy a guided tour of the "Gates of Heaven" exhibition organized especially for them. Conducted on a Tuesday, when the museum is closed, the tour will be led by guides trained in working with these audiences. At the same time a special promotional campaign for the exhibition will be conducted in disadvantaged areas. Moreover, the exhibition's curator will offer presentations on the exhibition at community centres located in these areas.

Visits to the museum: an opportunity to re-establish social ties

For more than a decade, the Louvre has been actively committed to sharing the riches contained in its collections with the economically and socially disadvantaged, young and old alike. A visit to the museum helps to fulfil the objectives targeted by those seeking to foster greater social integration among the communities they serve. Access to cultural institutions offers a means of directly tackling the factors that lead to eroding community ties: exclusion, a sense of estrangement, isolation, diminished self-worth and loss of one’s cultural identity.