"Egyptomania" is a new art exhibition which has opened at the Louvre Museum in Paris. It shows just how many images of Egypt have emerged through the (2) **ages** and examines why this ancient culture has (3) **continued** to have such a powerful influence on the western imagination. It has (4) **touched** all of the arts, from opera and cinema to architecture and furniture design. It (5) **took** five years to prepare the exhibition, which (6) **features** more than 300 items, many of which are on (7) **loan** from international museums as far (8) **away** as Australia. It has generally been thought that European (9) **interest** in Egypt started with Napoleon Bonaparte’s military campaign which lasted from 1798 to 1801, but the exhibition shows that this is not the (10) **case**. There are examples of Egyptian influence (11) **dating** back to the early 17th century. Queen Marie Antoinette, well known for her (12) **fondness** of strange and exotic things, (13) **played** an important role in starting the (14) **fascination** for Egyptian art in France. Her bedroom ceiling in Versailles is painted (15) **with** Egyptian images, and there are chairs and tables decorated with small statues of young Pharaohs.