The Musée du Louvre and Snap’s AR Studio have teamed up to bring ancient Egyptian history to life through a series of immersive augmented reality experiences.
Through AR, these new experiences bring to light the shapes, materials, colours, and decorations of selected artworks, all of which faded over time, leaving only the raw stone. Thanks to emerging technologies such as AR, these artworks can be resurrected.
AR Studio teams collaborated closely with curators from the Louvre’s Department of Egyptian Antiquities to design three-dimensional reconstructions of missing elements, virtually restore original pigments, and create masks. This process relied on a comprehensive corpus of archives and references.
Egypt augmented
Visitors to the museum can initiate various experiences within the Department of Egyptian Antiquities by scanning a QR code on the artwork’s sign using their smartphone or via the Snapchat camera and explore the many ancient artefacts such as:
The Naos of Amasis: The weathered pink granite bas-reliefs on each of the Naos’s four sides are now visible for visitors to explore and contemplate. The statue of the god Osiris, once the recipient of ritual offerings and daily worship behind the wooden doors of the Naos, a discreet chapel within the temple’s most secluded section, has been restored to its original position and purpose.
The Chamber of Ancestors: The Chamber of Ancestors is revived in vibrant colours, adorned with radiant pigments, honouring the dynasties of kings who preceded Pharaoh Thutmose III on the Egyptian throne.
The Dendera Zodiac: The vault’s ceiling relief, influenced by Babylonian, Egyptian, and Greco-Roman systems, is unveiled in three dimensions, accompanied by an explanation of its uniquely intricate and nuanced purpose.
An AR obelisk in the museum’s Cour Carrée: In homage to Champollion’s original concept, AR and Snap’s Custom Landmarker technology virtually position the 222-ton granite obelisk from the Concorde at its original pedestal in the heart of the Louvre’s square courtyard.
A universal Face Lens is made accessible to Snapchatters worldwide, as AR Studio and the Musée du Louvre aim to provide a globally accessible experience. With this Face Lens, Snapchatters can immerse themselves in the world of ancient Egypt, donning 3D-reconstructed funerary masks that faithfully replicate those showcased in the Louvre museum.
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
