The Seated Scribe
One of the masterpieces of Egyptian art — a painted limestone scribe whose inlaid eyes have gazed out for over four thousand years.
Dating from the Old Kingdom, around 2600–2350 BC, the statue was found at Saqqara in 1850 by the French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette. It shows a scribe seated cross-legged, a papyrus scroll unrolled across his lap, caught in the moment before he begins to write.
What makes the Scribe so arresting are the eyes: inlaid with red-veined white magnesite, polished rock crystal and copper, they give the figure an astonishingly lifelike gaze. The vivid paint and the realistic modelling of the torso are rare survivals from ancient Egypt.
The scribe's identity and exact date remain uncertain, adding to his mystery. He is displayed among the Egyptian antiquities of the Sully wing, one of the Louvre's most treasured objects from the ancient world.
- 🗿TypePainted limestone · inlaid eyes
- 🏛️OriginSaqqara, Egypt
- 📅Datec. 2600–2350 BC
- 🏛️RoomSully wing · Egyptian antiquities
- 📍LocationMusée du Louvre, 75001 Paris
About the Louvre
The Louvre is the world’s largest and most-visited art museum. Once the fortress and royal palace of the kings of France, it opened as a public museum in 1793 and today holds some 35,000 works spanning antiquity to the mid-19th century — from Egyptian antiquities and Greek marbles to the French Crown Jewels.
Since 1989, visitors enter beneath the glass Pyramid designed by architect I. M. Pei, which opens onto the museum’s three wings — Denon, Sully and Richelieu — arranged around the Cour Napoléon. The Louvre stands in the 1st arrondissement along the Rue de Rivoli, beside the Tuileries Gardens and the Seine.
The museum is open every day except Tuesday, from 9 am to 6 pm (with a late evening on Fridays). Timed tickets are strongly recommended and can be booked on the official site, louvre.fr; under-18s enter free, as do EU residents under 26. Nearest métro: Palais-Royal–Musée du Louvre (lines 1 and 7).
Where to see it — the Louvre and around
The Louvre (pulsing marker) at the centre. Toggle the filters to explore the heritage, gardens, restaurants and activities of the 1st arrondissement — and the hotels around it.