What if the histories of Egyptology could be read through the streets of Paris? Outside the walls of the musée du Louvre, in covered passages, on public fountains, and under our very feet, lie histories of Egyptology hidden in plain sight. From the gardens of Joséphine de Beauharnais to the one of the Museum national d’Histoire naturelle, stories of collecting, of displacement, and of cultural practices—at once wondrous, curious, and at times disconcerting—begin to emerge.
These promenades sketch a picture of French Egyptology, of museum practices, and of our European engagement with ancient Egyptian mummified bodies that is far more layered than it first appears. Drawing on her recent publication Promenades égyptologiques dans Paris (Armand Colin, 2025), Dr Angela Stienne offers a richly illustrated talk that brings these long-overlooked histories to light and prompts a more critical reflection on ethics, displacement, and the shaping of French Egyptology.
Dr Angela Stienne, FRHistS is a museum historian, ethics researcher and museum consultant whose work focuses on the collecting, display and communication of Egyptian mummified human remains in European museums. She is the author of Mummified, The stories behind Egyptian mummies in museum (Manchester University Press, 2022) and Promenades égyptologiques dans Paris (Armand Colin, 2025).
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Cover image © Charlotte Leese.