The origins in the 19th century (1753-1798)
By T. G. H. James, former Keeper of Egyptian Antiquities,
British Museum
Introduction
Objects from ancient Egypt have always formed part of the
collections of the British Museum. When the Museum was founded in
1753, its first purpose was to house the many thousands of objects
and the large library amassed by Sir Hans Sloane during his life.
Sloane (1660-1753) was a man of many parts. He was well-connected
socially and professionally; he was wealthy, a notable scientist,
and a gentleman collector of wide-ranging interests. His
professional activities, especially as President of the Royal
College of Physicians and President of the Royal Society, provided
him with colleagues and acquaintances who travelled widely, keeping
in mind Sloane's interests during their sojourns in distant lands,
collecting interesting items for his 'cabinet of curiosities.'
Sloane was prepared to collect anything that seemed to contribute
to human knowledge, and that included Egyptian antiquities. When
his collection was acquired by the British nation as the core of
the new national museum, it contained about one hundred and fifty
items from Egypt, mostly small and unimportant antiquities acquired
probably more by chance than by deliberate intent.
The time had not yet arrived for the serious collecting of
ancient objects from Egypt. The country was rarely visited by
Europeans, apart from the few merchants trading in the Eastern
Mediterranean. The occasional adventurous traveller was likely to
encounter serious difficulties, and indeed great danger, if he
journeyed in the south of the country. The cities of Cairo and
Alexandria were accessible, if not notably hospitable, and it was
not easy to obtain antiquities on any scale.
Nevertheless, some ancient objects were brought back to European
countries from the time of the late sixteenth century, and by the
early eighteenth century there were enough pieces in private hands
to stimulate the setting up of an Egyptian Society in London, the
members of which met from time to time to dine and to discuss their
Egyptian 'treasures'. Some of its members had travelled seriously
in Egypt, and wrote books which stimulated wide interest in that
country; such were Richard Pococke and Frederik Norden. Others had
visited Egypt for commercial reasons, and had taken the opportunity
to visit some of the ancient sites near Cairo, like Saqqara.
Notable among these merchants was William Lethieullier.
After its foundation, the British Museum served as a focus for
the generosity of private collectors. Although Sloane's original
bequest had been rather modest as far as Egyptian antiquities were
concerned, their presence in the national collection stimulated
further presentations. At his death in 1756 William Lethieullier
left most of his collection to the Museum. It included the first
mummy and coffin to enter Montagu House, which then housed the
British Museum. Lethieullier had purchased these at Saqqara. They
were at the same time joined by a second mummy and coffin, donated
by Pitt Lethieullier, a nephew of William. These two mummies cannot
now be identified with certainty.
For the remainder of the eighteenth century, few Egyptian
antiquities came to the British Museum apart from two small groups
sent back to Britain by Edward Wortley Montagu to his
brother-in-law the Earl of Bute; the latter presented them to King
George III, who passed them to the Museum. They included another
mummy and coffin and two large inscribed basalt slabs from temples
in the Delta.