Louvre Masterpieces Arrive in Yerevan for Historic Exhibition

For the first time in history, some of the world’s most famous works from the Louvre Museum in Paris will be displayed in Armenia. The History Museum of Armenia will open an international exhibition titled “Sacred Dialogue: From the Louvre to the History Museum of Armenia” on September 21.

The exhibition’s opening press conference will include key figures such as Armenia’s Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan, France’s Ambassador to Armenia Olivier Decottignies, Louvre Museum President-Director Laurence des Cars, and Director of the History Museum of Armenia Davit Poghosyan.

Curated by Davit Poghosyan, Nzhdeh Yeranyan, Sona Hovsepyan, Maximilien Durand, and Camille Chenet, the exhibition will present sixteen exceptional masterpieces from the Louvre alongside treasures from the History Museum of Armenia’s own collection. The exhibition creates a dialogue between cultures and centuries, highlighting both local and international artistic achievements.

The displayed works cover a wide geographic area, including Bulgaria, Egypt, Crete, and Syria, and date from the 4th to the 19th centuries. Visitors will see rare examples of glasswork, woodcarving, stone sculpture such as khachkars, architectural fragments, goldsmithing, church vestments, liturgical curtains, vessels, and icons.

• Highlights from the Louvre’s collection include:

• Fabric with the Prophet Jonah motif (4th–5th century, Egypt)

• Relief of a Cross and Fish (5th–7th century, Egypt)

• Reliquary cupboard (5th century, Italy)

• Chalice of Ganeh (6th–7th century, Byzantine Empire)

• Silver-gilt bracelet (12th–13th century, Byzantine Empire)

• Icon of the Virgin Mary (15th century, Crete)

• Icon of the Crucifixion (19th century, Jerusalem)

These international treasures will be displayed alongside Armenian masterpieces such as the Winged Cross of Dvin (7th century), wooden capitals from Sevan’s St. Apostles Church (9th century), an intricately carved church door (15th century), one of Ani’s thuribles (13th century), and the Gavar St. John Church curtain (19th century). A special highlight of the exhibition is the reliquary of St. Bartholomew the Apostle, on loan from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

Organizers say the exhibition aims to show the artistic richness of Christian Eastern cultures while also exploring their shared themes, connected traditions, and exchanges with the Roman Empire and the Islamic world.

This exhibition is the first major result of a cooperation agreement signed last year between the Louvre Museum and the History Museum of Armenia, marking the beginning of a new partnership between the two institutions.

Opening on Armenia’s Independence Day, the exhibition carries symbolic importance. It reflects Armenia’s identity as the first nation in the world to adopt Christianity as a state religion and emphasizes the country’s long-standing Christian heritage.

The exhibition will remain open to the public until March 21, 2026.

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