DOI Artikel:
Stępniak, Karolina: Egyptian mirrors from the French-Polish excavations in Tell Edfu
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18950#0086
Karolina Stępniak
Egyptian Mirrors
from the French-Polish
Excavations in Tell Edfu
Among the fifteen Egyptian mirrors in the collection of the National
Museum in Warsaw, ten come from the French-Polish excavations held from
1937 to 1939 in Tell Edfu, headed by Kazimierz Michałowski at the
necropolis from the period of Old, Middle and New Kingdom.1 Warsaw
Efniversity deposited these objects in the National Museum in Warsaw at the
time of the excavations. Mirrors with inventory numbers 140331, 140334
were deposited in 1937, whereas numbers 141673, 139657, 141672 and
141645 in 1938 and numbers 141590, 140330, 140332, 140333 in 1939.
Information about these objects come from excavation reports. Numerous
mistakes and discrepancies discovered in these reports were corrected after
the detailed analysis of the artefacts.1 2 The data were reclassified according to
type of a mirror and all dates were corrected.
Except for its obvious useful purpose, the mirror was also an important
symbol in the cult related to burial ceremonies and places of worship. Due to
its capacity to reflect images the mirror was a symbol of birth, rebirth and
vitality.
In the production of a mirror disc several different types of metal were used,
such as: copper, bronze, gold, silver and electron. Copper was used for the
first time in Egypt at the time of Badari culture. It became the most commonly
used metal during the Old Kingdom period until the beginning of the bronze
1 B. Bruyere et al., Fouilles franco-polonaises. Rapports I. Tell Edfou 1937, Cairo 1937;
K. Michałowski et al., Fouilles franco-polonaises. Rapports II. Tell Edfou 1938, premiere
fascicule, Cairo 1938, deuxieme fascicule, Cairo 1939; K. Michałowski et al., Fouilles franco-
-polonaises. Rapports III. Tell Edfou 1939, Cairo 1950.
2 The objects described in this article were discussed in an unpublished thesis written under the
tutelage of professor Jadwiga Lipińska: K. Stępniak, Lustra egipskie w zbiorach Muzeum
Narodowego w 'Warszawie, Warsaw 1999.
84
Egyptian Mirrors
from the French-Polish
Excavations in Tell Edfu
Among the fifteen Egyptian mirrors in the collection of the National
Museum in Warsaw, ten come from the French-Polish excavations held from
1937 to 1939 in Tell Edfu, headed by Kazimierz Michałowski at the
necropolis from the period of Old, Middle and New Kingdom.1 Warsaw
Efniversity deposited these objects in the National Museum in Warsaw at the
time of the excavations. Mirrors with inventory numbers 140331, 140334
were deposited in 1937, whereas numbers 141673, 139657, 141672 and
141645 in 1938 and numbers 141590, 140330, 140332, 140333 in 1939.
Information about these objects come from excavation reports. Numerous
mistakes and discrepancies discovered in these reports were corrected after
the detailed analysis of the artefacts.1 2 The data were reclassified according to
type of a mirror and all dates were corrected.
Except for its obvious useful purpose, the mirror was also an important
symbol in the cult related to burial ceremonies and places of worship. Due to
its capacity to reflect images the mirror was a symbol of birth, rebirth and
vitality.
In the production of a mirror disc several different types of metal were used,
such as: copper, bronze, gold, silver and electron. Copper was used for the
first time in Egypt at the time of Badari culture. It became the most commonly
used metal during the Old Kingdom period until the beginning of the bronze
1 B. Bruyere et al., Fouilles franco-polonaises. Rapports I. Tell Edfou 1937, Cairo 1937;
K. Michałowski et al., Fouilles franco-polonaises. Rapports II. Tell Edfou 1938, premiere
fascicule, Cairo 1938, deuxieme fascicule, Cairo 1939; K. Michałowski et al., Fouilles franco-
-polonaises. Rapports III. Tell Edfou 1939, Cairo 1950.
2 The objects described in this article were discussed in an unpublished thesis written under the
tutelage of professor Jadwiga Lipińska: K. Stępniak, Lustra egipskie w zbiorach Muzeum
Narodowego w 'Warszawie, Warsaw 1999.
84