2008 01 26 - Greek Masterpieces from The Louvre, Singapore National Museum

Due to the refurbishing of the Classical Greek and Hellinistic Art rooms at the famed Louvre Museum in Paris, some Greek masterpieces are on display in the National Museum of Singapore for the first time outside the Parisian museum’s walls for a unique exhibition from 9 December 2007 to March 2008.

124 items from this Greek collection are in Singapore for the exhibition, such as for instance, the marbles from the Nointel collection, and statues from the royal collections. In addition to these, a selection of some of the most beautiful ancient Greek vases will be put on display.


The first part of the exhibition tells the story of Athens in the fifth and fourth centuries BC, its topography and political organization, through portraits of its leading figures, depictions of its founding myths, and artworks from the Acropolis and necropolises.

The second section tries to give an accurate portrait of the ancient Greeks’ way of life, with a special emphasis on the social consequences of categories such as citizenship or gender. The third section underlines specific features of ancient Greek culture and civilization, emphasizing the three defining cultural practices: sporting events, the symposium and the theatre. The final section of the exhibition shows how religion permeated the lives of the ancient Greeks.

The original Greek sculptures in bronze are rare as most have been melted down to become weapons. Hence, most are actually Roman copies.