DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.11639#0003
Report of the Committee, consisting of Mr. F. G-alton, General Pitt-
Eivees, Professor Flower, Professor A. Macalister, Mr. F. W.
Eudler, Mr. E. Stuart Poole and Mr. Bloxam (Secretary),
appointed for the purpose of procuring, with the help of Mr.
Flinders Petrie, Racial Photographs from the Ancient Egyp-
tian Pictures and Sculptures. (Brawn up by Mr. Petrie.)
The Committee charged with the administration of the grant voted at
the last meeting of the Association for the purposes of obtaining racial
photographs from the Egyptian monuments, after consulting on the most
effective means for the purpose, and considering the list of subjects and
the practical details of the matter, placed the carrying out of the object
in my hands, on the understanding that I should follow the lines agreed
on, so far as circumstances permitted. Since.my return to England, and
submitting a preliminary report to the Committee, they have requested
me to prepare an account of the work which should serve as their own
report to the present meeting.
After receiving a first list from Dr. Poole, and a long and full state-
ment of desiderata from Rev. H. G. Tomkins, the list of subjects was
decided on; and these have been reproduced, unless prevented by the con-
dition of the monuments. Besides these a great number of other subjects
have been taken, in course of a full search at Thebes for all racial figures.
The first idea was only to obtain photographs ; before starting, however, the
Committee fully agreed on the importance of taking casts of the sculpture
where photography would be difficult. And in actual work I never took
a photograph if it were possible to take a jsaper cast; the larger scale
and better representation of a cast, and the facility with which a photo-
graph can be taken from it afterwards, under the best circumstances,
instead of on a high wall or in a bad light, rendered this way far the
most satisfactory. The results are that, instead of a collection of photo-
graphs only, there will be finally (1) a series of about 150 casts, com-
prising 268 heads, which will be presented to the British Museum ;
(2) other selected sets of casts from the paper moulds, which can be ob-
tained for museums on application to me ; (3) a series of forty photograph
negatives of paintings, and a series of photographs from all the casts,
excluding duplicates; (4) prints of all these plates, which can be ordered
from Mr. Browning Hogg, 75 High Street, Bromley, Kent, at cost price;
the charge for printing is 2s. 3d. per dozen if selected from a loose set;
or 45s. for the whole, mounted on printed sheets in a case.
The following is the list of casts and photographs so far as they
can be yet named with certainty; the names of the people represented
are, however, often not given, and still oftener destroyed ; but yet the
race may be determined by comparison with other sculptures which show
the same dress or characteristics, and also by the general subject of a
whole scene, after the detailed names have been lost.
Some subjects which were proposed have not been done, owing to the
injury or destruction of the sculptures, and particularly to the bad state
and dirt of the paintings, which made photography often impossible. On
the other hand, many of these casts are from subjects not named in the
original request.
3 s
Luzao & Co., (Opposite the British Museum)
Eivees, Professor Flower, Professor A. Macalister, Mr. F. W.
Eudler, Mr. E. Stuart Poole and Mr. Bloxam (Secretary),
appointed for the purpose of procuring, with the help of Mr.
Flinders Petrie, Racial Photographs from the Ancient Egyp-
tian Pictures and Sculptures. (Brawn up by Mr. Petrie.)
The Committee charged with the administration of the grant voted at
the last meeting of the Association for the purposes of obtaining racial
photographs from the Egyptian monuments, after consulting on the most
effective means for the purpose, and considering the list of subjects and
the practical details of the matter, placed the carrying out of the object
in my hands, on the understanding that I should follow the lines agreed
on, so far as circumstances permitted. Since.my return to England, and
submitting a preliminary report to the Committee, they have requested
me to prepare an account of the work which should serve as their own
report to the present meeting.
After receiving a first list from Dr. Poole, and a long and full state-
ment of desiderata from Rev. H. G. Tomkins, the list of subjects was
decided on; and these have been reproduced, unless prevented by the con-
dition of the monuments. Besides these a great number of other subjects
have been taken, in course of a full search at Thebes for all racial figures.
The first idea was only to obtain photographs ; before starting, however, the
Committee fully agreed on the importance of taking casts of the sculpture
where photography would be difficult. And in actual work I never took
a photograph if it were possible to take a jsaper cast; the larger scale
and better representation of a cast, and the facility with which a photo-
graph can be taken from it afterwards, under the best circumstances,
instead of on a high wall or in a bad light, rendered this way far the
most satisfactory. The results are that, instead of a collection of photo-
graphs only, there will be finally (1) a series of about 150 casts, com-
prising 268 heads, which will be presented to the British Museum ;
(2) other selected sets of casts from the paper moulds, which can be ob-
tained for museums on application to me ; (3) a series of forty photograph
negatives of paintings, and a series of photographs from all the casts,
excluding duplicates; (4) prints of all these plates, which can be ordered
from Mr. Browning Hogg, 75 High Street, Bromley, Kent, at cost price;
the charge for printing is 2s. 3d. per dozen if selected from a loose set;
or 45s. for the whole, mounted on printed sheets in a case.
The following is the list of casts and photographs so far as they
can be yet named with certainty; the names of the people represented
are, however, often not given, and still oftener destroyed ; but yet the
race may be determined by comparison with other sculptures which show
the same dress or characteristics, and also by the general subject of a
whole scene, after the detailed names have been lost.
Some subjects which were proposed have not been done, owing to the
injury or destruction of the sculptures, and particularly to the bad state
and dirt of the paintings, which made photography often impossible. On
the other hand, many of these casts are from subjects not named in the
original request.
3 s
Luzao & Co., (Opposite the British Museum)