Egyptology is a story more often told in terms of the glitz and glamour of discoveries rather than through the lives of the discoverers.
But study is turning to archival sources in order to understand the people who excavated, selected, transported, sold, collected and curated the objects now in museums.
Especially in smaller institutions with a modest number of pieces from ancient Egypt or Sudan, the connection to local individuals helps to make sense of our connection with Egypt.
Who Was Who in Egyptology, first published in 1951, is a classic source of reference for Egyptologists. This fourth edition features more Egyptian Egyptologists than previously, many more photos of individuals, and a concise style that makes it a genuine pleasure to pick off the shelf and dip into.
Museum work frequently produces snippets of information relating to particular characters, often little known otherwise, and many connected with Egypt are mentioned here. One entry – for a Manchester collector, a German émigré named Max Robinow – kickstarted a number of discoveries about Robinow’s life and interests, a trail as exciting for genealogists as for Egyptologists.
Campbell Price is the curator of Egypt and Sudan at the Manchester Museum
But study is turning to archival sources in order to understand the people who excavated, selected, transported, sold, collected and curated the objects now in museums.
Especially in smaller institutions with a modest number of pieces from ancient Egypt or Sudan, the connection to local individuals helps to make sense of our connection with Egypt.
Who Was Who in Egyptology, first published in 1951, is a classic source of reference for Egyptologists. This fourth edition features more Egyptian Egyptologists than previously, many more photos of individuals, and a concise style that makes it a genuine pleasure to pick off the shelf and dip into.
Museum work frequently produces snippets of information relating to particular characters, often little known otherwise, and many connected with Egypt are mentioned here. One entry – for a Manchester collector, a German émigré named Max Robinow – kickstarted a number of discoveries about Robinow’s life and interests, a trail as exciting for genealogists as for Egyptologists.
Campbell Price is the curator of Egypt and Sudan at the Manchester Museum
