"Lepsius - the German expedition to the Nile" - A presentation by the National Museums in Berlin at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo
Press release from 10/30/2006
The Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, together with the National Museums in Berlin - Prussian Cultural Heritage in cooperation with the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, are opening the exhibition "Lepsius - the German Expedition to the Nile" tomorrow. It is part of a series of exhibitions that the Cairo museum is dedicating to the great pioneers of Egyptology. "Champollion le Grand", a tribute to the decipherer of hieroglyphics, kicked off the series in 2004; the special exhibition on the German Egyptologist Carl Richard Lepsius (1810-1884) is now a further highlight.
The exhibition is the prelude to future joint projects and intensified cooperation between Berlin and Cairo. It is an outstanding example of the successful co-operation between Germany and Egypt in the field of archaeology since the 19th century. It introduces one of the most important protagonists of Egyptology.
Carl Richard Lepsius is not only regarded as the founder of this discipline in Germany, but also as one of the pioneers of modern archaeology. Until 3 February 2007, the exhibition in Cairo is showing a selection of drawings made during his great expedition to Egypt (1842-1845). Together with optical instruments, sketches and diaries, they bring the beginnings of archaeological field research to life.
Lepsius was one of the first to systematically research the history of Egypt. During his expedition to Egypt in 1842-1845 on behalf of Friedrich Wilhelm IV, he set new standards in the method of archaeological monument recording; for example, he trained a hieroglyphic artist especially for this purpose. Lepsius published the results of his field research in the standard work "Denkmaeler aus Aegypten und Aethiopien", which is still indispensable today. The original drawings made during the expedition served as a model for this work and are now the centrepiece of an exhibition for the first time.
The drawings are also linked in a special way to the Neues Museum, which was built at this time (1843-1855) on Berlin's Museum Island: While still in Cairo, Lepsius suggested to the Director General of the Royal Museums a scientifically accurate colouring as a decorative principle for the Egyptian Department. In the years 1847-1850, the expedition members Max and Ernst Weidenbach then created a large part of the museum's murals, which were destroyed in the Second World War, based on the drawings. Lepsius himself was appointed scientific director in 1855 and finally director of the Egyptian Museum in 1865. In the 1870s, Lepsius also took over the management of the Königliche Bibliothek zu Berlin, today's Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz.
The importance of the exhibition is also underlined by the accompanying events organised by the Goethe-Institut and the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo: the symposium "Lepsius - The German Nile Expedition" and the lecture "Museumsinsel Berlin - Welterbe weiterbauen" (Museum Island Berlin - Building on World Heritage) by the President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, on 1 November 2006 at the Goethe-Institut. The exhibition is accompanied by the trilingual (Arabic, German, English) catalogue "Lepsius - The German Expedition to the Nile", edited by Agnete von Specht, 2006 (ISBN-10: 3-88609-549-5, ISBN-13: 978-3-88609-549-0).
Curriculum vitae of Carl Richard Lepsius
- Born on 23 December 1810 in Naumburg an der Saale
- 1829-33 Studied at the universities of Leipzig, Göttingen and Berlin (lectures in history, German studies, classical studies and comparative linguistics)
- 1833 Dissertation "De tabulis Eugubinis", followed by a stay in Paris
- 1837 Publication of "Lettre à Mr H. Rossellini sur l' alphabet hiéroglyphique"
- 1836-38 Stay in Italy (Archaeological Institute in Rome)
- 1842 Associate professorship for Egyptology at the University of Berlin
- 1842 Publication of "The Book of the Dead of the Egyptians"
- 1842-45 Expedition to Egypt and the Sudan
- 1846 Full professorship for Egyptology at the University of Berlin
- 1849-1859 Publication of "Denkmaeler aus Aegypten und Aethiopien" (12 volumes)
- 1850 Elected a full member of the Academy of Sciences, thus recognising Egyptology as an independent branch of science
- 1855 Appointment as scientific director of the Egyptian Museum Berlin
- 1865 Appointment as director of the Egyptian Museum Berlin
- 1866 Second trip to Egypt
- 1867-80 President of the Archaeological Institute in Rome
- 1869 Third trip to Egypt
- 1873 Acting Chief Librarian of the Royal Library in Berlin (now the Berlin State Library - Prussian Cultural Heritage)
- 1874-84 Chief Librarian of the Royal Library in Berlin
- 1884 Died on 10 July in Berlin