Béatrice André-Salvini was a leading figure in the field of Near
Eastern archaeology, known for her transformative work at the Louvre,
particularly the reorganisation of the Persian Achaemenid rooms and her
stewardship of the museum’s cuneiform tablet collection. A passionate
scholar and curator, she was instrumental in landmark exhibitions such
as The Birth of Writing, Babylonand Roads of Arabia,
and was deeply committed to safeguarding the heritage of the Middle
East through UNESCO-led efforts. Her scholarly interests spanned from
cuneiform and linear Elamite to Urartu, Ugarit, and the ancient kingdoms
of Mesopotamia. Whether restoring Darius’s palace at Susa or
reinterpreting the Niobe sculpture on Mount Sipylos, her contributions
left an indelible mark on the field.This commemorative volume honours Béatrice’s legacy through a
collection of personal tributes and academic essays from colleagues and
friends. It reflects the breadth of her work—from archaeological
missions in Bahrain and interpretations of Urartian inscriptions to the
conservation of clay tablets using innovative methods. Essays also
highlight her philological achievements, including the decoding of rare
trilingual Ugaritic texts and her dedication to the lives and work of
pioneering Orientalists. More than a scholarly tribute, the book is a
heartfelt homage to a life spent revealing and preserving the cultural
wealth of the ancient Near East.
H 290 x W 205 mm
278 pages
91 figures, 5 tables, 4 plates (colour throughout)
French text
Published Oct 2025
Archaeopress Archaeology
ISBN
Paperback: 9781805830245
Digital: 9781805830252
DOI 10.32028/9781805830245
Contents
Foreword – Ariane Thomas et Mirjo Salvini
Béatrice André-Salvini Neuilly-sur-Seine, January 27, 1949-Paris, November 24, 2020 – Nicole Chevalier
Béatrice André-Salvini. Bibliography – established by Nicole Chevalier and Mirjo Salvini
Testimonials
Portfolio
Abbot Jean Starcky and Syrian archaeologists according to two photographic documents kept in the Department of Oriental Antiquities of the Louvre Museum – Michel Al-Maqdissi and Sidonia Works
Cuneiform texts from the excavations of Qalʿat al-Baḥrain, Dilmun and the Land of the Sea at the dawn of the Kassite era – Béatrice André-Salvini (†), Antoine Cavigneaux and Pierre Lombard
A nuptial bed on a shell fragment of Mari inlay? – Dominique Beyer
Museums and cultural heritage in wartime: some reflections – Maria Giovanna Biga
The cast of the lion of Babylon from the Louvre museum – Vincent Blanchard
Ur-Utu, student or master? About learning cuneiform in Sippar-amnanum at the time
late paleo-Babylonian – Dominique CharpinHenri Pognon, an orientalist consul in Mesopotamia – Nicole Chevalier
Menhir statues of Arabia: the pastor and the ancestor – Marianne Cotty
Note on Achaemenid iconographyThe fight of the lion and the bull at Susa – Julien Cuny
Oxford Proto-Elamite – Jacob L. Dahl
Between Assyria and Urartu. A Study of the Political Entity of Mannaea Based on its Archaeology, Onomastic, and Toponomastic – Roberto Dan and Adriano V. Rossi
A fragment of a very old Syriac Gospel book in the Louvre – Alain J. Desreumaux
In the footsteps of Gudea. Provenance searches for neo-Sumerian antiquities in the Jeu de Paume art objects database – Nicolas Benoit and Anne Dunn-Vaturi
Balance and the Bilingual Brain – Irving Finkel
Note on a little-known vase from the Désiré-Albert Barre collection. From bucchero to black burnished ware – Françoise Gaultier
No One Likes a Know-it-all. A New Look at OB Akkadian Proverbs – Mark J. Geller
The “Taymāʾ Stone” in the Light of New Research – Arnulf house manager
The conservation-restoration of cuneiform tablets in raw earth. A long-term project – Anne Liégey
A joint between two tablet fragments of Nuzi AO 7775 (TCL 9 25) and BM 81509 (SANTAG 4 61) – Brigitte Lion and Véronique Pataï
The “going into the water” clause in Susa: ordeal or public ostracism? – Florence Malbran-Labat
An unpublished document from Enlila’s office in the Louvre collections (AO 32469) – Jaroslaw Maniaczyk
Béatrice André-Salvini and the archaeological mission of Bash Tapa Some memories – Lionel Marti
A reunion. Writing-technical considerations for the astrological text VAT 7814 + AO 6470 of the series Error It’s Elli – Joachim Marzahn
A reflection of the Broken Obelisk text at Qasr-Shemamok/Kilizu – Maria Grazia Masetti-Rouault and Olivier Rouault
May the scorpion-men guard the passage forever! – Valérie Matoian
Long-distance trade between Egypt and the Near East (2350-1800 BCE)
Actors and products in light of some recent discoveries – Juan Carlos Moreno GarcíaFriedrich Eduard Schulz and the Annals of Argišti I to Van Kalesi – Mirjo Salvini
The walls of Larsa: the mystery solved? – Régis Vallet
An ancient example of cooperation in the field of Hurrian studies – Gernot Wilhelm
Appendix “Iraq, a historical and cultural heritage to be made known in order to safeguard it”
