Views Of Ancient Egypt Since Napoleon Bonaparte

This book addresses some of the main themes of the study of Egypt during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In a combination of case studies and discursive chapters, the status of Egypt as an important example of traditional Asian scholarship, and as an ancient model of imperialism itself, is examined. Contributions range from studies of nineteenth century antiquarianism, and the collecting of Egyptian antiquities as an extension of the territorial ambitions and rivalries of the European powers, to explorations of how Egypt is understood and interpreted in contemporary societies. Views of Ancient Egypt also considers the way in which Ancient Egypt has been adopted by less privileged members of some societies as a cultural icon of past greatness.

Napoleon Bonaparte celebrated his conquest of Egypt in 1798 by commissioning a survey of the country's treasures published as the Description de L'Egypte. An army of engravers collaborated with artist-illustrators over a thirty-year period to produce 900 folio engravings of huge proportions depicting the architecture, monuments and antiquities of ancient Egypt together with contemporary views of the country. Reproducing large sections of the original folio, this is the first book in English to provide an accessible and comprehensive account of the origins and creation of the Description de L'Egypte. Terence M. Russell draws upon numerous first-hand reports of the French exploration in order to re-evaluate the intellectual and artistic achievements of Napoleon's ambitious campaign. He shows how, different from anything else conceived at the time, the rich plethora of drawings and personal writings compiled by the intrepid French explorers opened European eyes to the diverse splendours of a long forgotten civilization, giving rise to the science of Egyptology.

Napoleon Bonaparte's goal in setting sail for Egypt in 1798 was to establish new colonies for the French and to threaten British trade with India. While the immediate impact of the invasion has been the subject of many studies, it should also be considered in the context of the geopolitics of the period and the longer-term historical trends in Egypt. The papers in this volume consider all aspects of the French occupation and trace its repercussions into the late twentieth century. The background to the invasion is analyzed, including political and economic trends, French/British rivalry, French colonial fortunes and populist French Republican ideology. The work of the savants, those engineers and mathematicians who mapped and recorded ancient Egyptian artifacts, is shown to have had a formative influence on modern archaeological practice. The post-occupation contributions of French technocrats are exemplified by the pioneering work of a military surgeon. The contentious debate over the historiography of the occupation is reviewed, with a case study of its use during the Nasserist period. And in conclusion, a sweeping survey of Egyptian culture shows that Egypt's reappropriation of Egyptology has had a regenerating effect on Egyptian national consciousness. Resulting from the international conference on Napoleon in Egypt held in 1997 at the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library in Los Angeles, these papers are written by experts in the field.

Consuming Ancient Egypt examines the influence of Ancient Egypt on the everyday lives of contemporary people, of all ages, throughout the world. It looks at the Egypt tourist sees, Egypt in film and Egypt as the inspiration for opera. It asks why so many books are published each year on Egyptological subjects at all levels, from the austerely academic to the riotous celebrations of Egypt as a land of mystery, enchantment and fantasy. It then considers the ways in which Ancient Egypt interacts with the living world, in architecture, museum going, the acquisition of souvenirs and reproductions, design, and the perpetual appeal of the mummy. The significance of Egypt as an adjunct to (and frequently the subject of) marketing in the consumer society is examined. It reveals much about Egypt's immemorial appeal and the psychology of those who succumb to its magic.

This book considers the evidence for actual contacts between Egypt and other early African cultures, and how influential, or not, Egypt was on them.

Histories of Egyptology are increasingly of interest: to Egyptologists, archaeologists, historians, and others. Yet, particularly as Egypt undergoes a contested process of political redefinition, how do we write these histories, and what (or who) are they for? This volume addresses a variety of important themes, the historical involvement of Egyptology with the political sphere, the manner in which the discipline stakes out its professional territory, the ways in which practitioners represent Egyptological knowledge, and the relationship of this knowledge to the public sphere. Histories of Egyptology provides the basis to understand how Egyptologists constructed their discipline. Yet the volume also demonstrates how they construct ancient Egypt, and how that construction interacts with much wider concerns: of society, and of the making of the modern world.