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‘Egypt Uncovered’: New Exhibition at Sir John Soane’s Museum in London


Courtesy: Sir John Soane’s Museum

In celebration of the 200 anniversary of the discovery of the tomb of Pharaoh Seti I, Sir John Soane’s Museum will present Egypt uncovered: Belzoni and the Tomb of Pharaoh Seti I.

The new exhibition is named after Egyptologist Giovanni Battista Belzoni; it is promised to reveal the secret behind what the museum called “most treasured possession”.

The new exhibition will be available from October 11, 2017 through April 15, 2018.

Belzoni (1778–1823), also known as the great Belzoni, was one of the most significant explorers of his age and helped in developing Egyptology as a scientific discipline, according to the Museum’s website.

Belzoni was a circus strongman in London before he came to Egypt in 1815 and was charged with removing large and heavy antiquities. Among these antiquities was the seven-ton statue of Pharaoh Ramesses II. It was taken from King’s memorial temple at Luxor and is currently in the British Museum.


Courtesy: Sir John Soanes’s Museum

Belzonni, then, made a massive discovery in 1817 by finding the tomb of Ramesses II’s father, Seti I. The tomb had 10 colorful chambers and decorated with hieroglyphs. The sarcophagus of Seti I was removed by Belzoni and was bought by John Soane in 1842 and placed it in the heart of the museum.



More information about the sarcophagus : https://www.world-archaeology.com/issue ... seti-i.htm

The exhibition will feature a high-resolution 3D digital scan of the sarcophagus by Factum Arte, with a display of the real fragments of its broken lid.

https://egyptianstreets.com/2017/07/27/ ... in-london/



Whilst some might baulk at the description of Belzoni as helping "in developing Egyptology as a scientific discipline " - his taking of wax impressions in the tomb of Seti I caused irreparable damage - he is credited with the discovery of a number of tombs in the Valley of the Kings : Seti I, Amenhotep III, Ramses I, Merneptah and Ay. He also uncovered the entrance to the main temple at Abu Simbel. His methods were no worse than other explorers of his time, some of whom resorted to blasting their way to artifacts with dynamite!



Sir John Soane, on the other hand, had no great interest in Egypt per se. I'm not sure he ever went there. But he was an avid collector of artifacts of all kinds. His main fame was as one of the most renowned architects of his time, responsible, inter alia, for the Bank of England.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Soane

Thanks.

Avid collector my old aunt - he was a compulsive one - whatever is the phobia for collecting on a random and large scale.

Great, confused, claustrophobic museum where you can get very, very close to the objects.

The new exhibition is named after Egyptologist Giovanni Battista Belzoni; it is promised to reveal the secret behind what the museum called “most treasured possession”.

Intriguing. I wonder what this refers to?

Stephen Cross (a member of the EES) wrote an interesting article about the tomb of Seti I including his persuasive analysis of why the "sarcophagus" should really be called a "coffin".....a distinction probably more of interest to the pedantic than egyptology writers generally.

Cross thought the actual sarcophagus, likely a substantial item of stone, might lie at the end of the long subterranean corridor descending from the burial chamber. Attempts to get to the end of it have long been frustrated by inherent dangers and fears of disturbing the surrounding ground, with possible damage to this, and other, tombs.

John Romer, in his book "The Rape of Tutankhamun", was particularly scathing of the reckless digging of Sheikh Ali Abd el Rassoul in the 1960's...not that it deterred the hatted-one from burrowing further in search of greater glory.Excavating between 2007 and 2010, Hawass found nothing...the corridor petering out and apparently unfinished.

https://www.academia.edu/2366416/Setis_ ... eun_London

For those who have not been to the Soane's Museum for sometime, there has been a few changes, with the use of the two adjoining buildings, that were purchased by the said man during his life. The life story of this man is most intriguing, especially from his marriage onwards, even after he dies. It certainly would make an excellent tale, straight off the pen of Charles Dickens.

By the time John Soane was coming to the end of his life, and still living alone in this house, this whole area had become most undesirable, such people of wealth had moved to the new more prosperous areas of Holborn, such as Bedford Square, etc. There are a number of questions that are rarely ask about the man himself, for example,.....How was it possible that he had the wealth to acquire such valuable items, especially when we look at his art collection ?

It is my belief that Charles Dickens based his book Bleak House on the then home of John Soane, and with certainty we can identify some of the main characters even today, who were real people at that time. I also believe that even Dickens saw himself in two separate character parts. Most of the people we meet in the works by Dickens are from real life, even as a young boy he studied people carefully, and according to form, he was a great mimic .