Exhibitions


Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris (FR)   11 June 2025 - 11 January 2026

Le Mystère Cléopâtre

Among the great female figures in history, Cleopatra, the last sovereign of Egypt, remains the most popular. The exhibition at the Institut du Monde Arabe from June 11, 2025, to 11 January 11, 2026, explores the legends that have contributed to her fame, as well as recent archaeological discoveries about her. For this exhibition, the Fondation is lending 10 objects from its archaeology collection.

The last ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty, Cleopatra pursued an active policy of reform that brought prosperity to her country. A shrewd strategist, she maintained peace throughout her twenty-year reign. Around her figure, a dark legend first took shape, which later evolved into a universal icon, combining passion and death, sensuality and cruelty, wealth and war, politics and feminism. On what foundations does this legend rest? How have artists interpreted her image over the centuries? Why does she still fascinate us today? The exhibition invites visitors to delve into the “Cleopatra mystery”…

Paintings, sculptures, prints, manuscripts, archaeological artefacts, jewellery and coins, costumes, film projections, photographs… all offer insights through a rich selection of works on loan from the Louvre, the Bibliothèque nationale, the Château de Versailles, as well as other museums in France and Spain, the United States, Italy and Switzerland. Among the items on display are ten artefacts lent by the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art: a decorated mirror, jewellery, a funerary crown, and vases.

INSTITUT DU MONDE ARABE
1 Rue des Fossés Saint-Bernard
75005 Paris, France

Find on Google Maps

Works on loan

NA
Couronne funéraire
Fin IVe - IIIe siècle avant J.-C.
NA
Vase aux dieux Bès
IVe - Ier siècle avant J.-C.
NA
Bague-cachet de Ptolémée IX ou de Ptolémée X
Fin IIe siècle avant J.-C.
NA
Askos en forme de canard
IVe - IIIe siècle avant J.-C.
NA
Boucles d'oreille à motif floral
IVe - IIe siècle avant J.-C.
NA
Boucle d'oreille en forme d'Éros-Harpocrate
Ier siècle avant J.-C.
NA
Miroir à boîte orné d'une tête de satyre
IVe siècle - IIIe siècle avant J.-C.
NA
Collier
IIe - Ier siècle avant J.-C.
NA
Pointeur de lecture
IIe siècle avant J.-C. - Ier siècle après J.-C.
NA
Amphorisque
Fin du IIe - début du Ier siècle avant J.-C.