Museum collections

Egyptological museum collections are the principal means of interacting physically with pharaonic material culture. Such collections of objects have a partial, often fragmentary, nature and are usually biased in favour of monumental and funerary sources. This chapter delineates the background to the acquisition of objects and the formation of museum collections—notably through the elaborate antiquities trade network rather than through archaeological ‘discovery’. The resulting museum representations of ‘ancient Egypt’ attempt to elide many gaps in the material record to form a coherent (but often simplistic) narrative. Museums attempt to balance conservation, accessibility and research, while utilizing the popular appeal of ‘ancient Egypt’ to engage with a wide audience. Awareness of these factors is important in understanding Egyptology’s reconstruction of pharaonic civilization.

Beyond Rosetta

The discovery and collection of multilingual inscriptions through excavation and the antiquities trade in the nineteenth century played a crucial role in the decipherment of Egyptian scripts. The history of the modern ownership of inscriptions now located in Egypt, Europe, and North America and their role in the development of Egyptology are closely linked. The chapter traces the history of scholarship on several Greek-Egyptian texts, including an unpublished inscription from the Delta, a decree in honour of a member of a prominent family from Upper Egypt, foundation plaques from a temple of Hathor-Aphrodite, and a sphinx from Koptos. The reassembly of stones which were often dispersed and broken into separate pieces through circumstances of excavation or the antiquities market allows us to establish equivalences between Egyptian and Greek concepts, people, and places, and sheds light on the sociolinguistic situation in individual communities, and in Egypt as a whole.

The Epigraphy of Ptolemaic Egypt

The book contains twelve chapters, by various authors, discussing aspects of the Greek and Egyptian bilingual and trilingual inscriptions from Egypt during the Ptolemaic period, from the conquest by Alexander the Great (332 BC) to the death of Kleopatra VII (30 BC). It is intended as a complement to the publication of the full texts, with up-to-date commentaries and images, of about 650 inscriptions on stone. These include major decrees of priestly colleges, such as the Rosetta Stone, and a great variety of religious and secular monuments from the whole of Egypt, from Alexandria to Philae. The subjects covered include the latest technologies for digital imaging of stone inscriptions, the character of Egyptian monuments with Greek text, the survival and collection of bilingual monuments in the nineteenth century through excavation and the antiquities trade, religious dedications from Alexandria and elsewhere, the civic government of Greek foundations and public associations, the role of the military in public epigraphy, verse epigrams, onomastics, and palaeography. Overall, the collection offers a comprehensive review of the social, religious, and cultural context of the great inscribed monuments of the Ptolemaic dynasty which are key sources for understanding the coexistence of two different cultures and the impact of Ptolemaic rule and Greek immigration in Egypt.

Temple looting in Cambodia: Anatomy of a statue trafficking network

Qualitative empirical studies of the illicit antiquities trade have tended to focus either on the supply end, through interviews with looters, or on the demand end, through interviews with dealers, museums and collectors. Trafficking of artefacts across borders from source to market has until now been something of an evidential black hole. Here, we present the first empirical study of a statue trafficking network, using oral history interviews conducted during ethnographic criminology fieldwork in Cambodia and Thailand. The data begin to answer many of the pressing but unresolved questions in academic studies of this particular criminal market, such as whether organized crime is involved in antiquities looting and trafficking (yes), whether the traffic in looted artefacts overlaps with the insertion of fakes into the market (yes) and how many stages there are between looting at source and the placing of objects for public sale in internationally respected venues (surprisingly few). © The Author 2014.

Temple looting in Cambodia: Anatomy of a statue trafficking network

Qualitative empirical studies of the illicit antiquities trade have tended to focus either on the supply end, through interviews with looters, or on the demand end, through interviews with dealers, museums and collectors. Trafficking of artefacts across borders from source to market has until now been something of an evidential black hole. Here, we present the first empirical study of a statue trafficking network, using oral history interviews conducted during ethnographic criminology fieldwork in Cambodia and Thailand. The data begin to answer many of the pressing but unresolved questions in academic studies of this particular criminal market, such as whether organized crime is involved in antiquities looting and trafficking (yes), whether the traffic in looted artefacts overlaps with the insertion of fakes into the market (yes) and how many stages there are between looting at source and the placing of objects for public sale in internationally respected venues (surprisingly few). © The Author 2014.

The Current State of the Antiquities Trade: An Art Dealer’s Perspective

The antiquities trade is the subject of contentious debate. The anti-trade position stems from a long unquestioned stance within academia that private ownership of antiquities inherently results in archaeological site destruction and the loss of valuable data. However, there is little data to support this notion. It also ignores the enormous contributions to our shared knowledge of the past that have been made through art collecting and museum acquisitions. The narrative that the destruction of ancient sites is directly tied to Western demand for ancient art is overly simplistic. Despite the ongoing destruction in the Middle East and North African region, virtually no artifacts from there have entered the Western trade in recent years. Opportunistic treasure hunting by desperate locals and intentional destruction of ancient objects for religious reasons cannot be curtailed by increased legislation in Western nations. Fetishizing mundane ubiquitous antiquities as sacrosanct objects of great national importance that must be retained within modern borders in a globalized world and demanding criminalization of the legitimate international art trade are counterproductive. In many archaeologically rich countries, antiquities are regarded as items to sell to foreigners at best or sacrilegious objects to be destroyed at worst. The free trade in cultural objects is itself an institution that needs to be protected. An open legitimate trade in antiquities is now more than ever necessary to ensure the preservation and dissemination of worldwide cultural property.

European antiquities trade: a refuge for money laundering and terrorism financing

Purpose This paper aims to demonstrate how criminals launder money in the antiquities trade in Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative content analysis of 58 semi-structured expert interviews with both criminals and prevention experts and a quantitative survey of 184 compliance officers revealed the concrete techniques used to launder money in the European antiquities trade. Findings The antiquities market facilitates the placement, layering and integration of the transfer of assets to terrorist organizations. Most importantly, it is among the few profitable methods of laundering money. Research limitations/implications As the findings of the qualitative study are based on semi-standardized interviews, they are limited to the 58 interviewees’ perspectives. Practical implications The identification of concrete methods of money laundering and terrorism financing aims to provide compliance officers, law enforcement agencies and legislators with valuable insight into criminal activity. Originality/value While the existing literature focuses on organizations fighting money laundering and the financing of terrorism, this study instead describes how criminals avoid detection by taking into account prevention and criminal perspectives.