Chapter XXXIX: Letter XXXVI: Cairo, the 11th July, 1845

Will you permit me to communicate briefly some ideas which have of late considerably occupied my attention.[115] I have never lost sight of your wish to decorate the New Museum in harmony with the monuments which it contains, and I hope that you continue to entertain these views. I have had great pleasure in the account Herr Hertel has given me respecting the arrangement of the Egyptian saloons, and have heard from him that the facing of the columns is still _in suspenso_. It is very improbable that such a favourable opportunity will ever recur of having such means at our disposal on the first formation of a museum as we have in the arrangement of this Egyptian one, when we shall be able to furnish a complete whole, and at the same time offer to the public so much that is new and important in plan, materials, and arrangement. If I remember rightly, you have expressed a desire to form an _historical_ museum, such, in fact, as all such museums should be, in conformity with their purpose and idea, and yet such as nowhere exists. This view, however, in an Egyptian museum, is at all events attainable in a degree which, even under the most favourable circumstances, can be but remotely approached in all other museums, because in no other nation can the date of each individual monument be so precisely and surely presented as in this, and because no other collection is distributed throughout so long a period of time (above 3000 years). I therefore presume that, as a whole, you wish to arrange the principal saloons historically, so far as this can be accomplished, and by some method to combine what belongs to the Old, what to the New, and what to the Greek-Roman Monarchy, in such a manner at least, that each chamber of any size should have a definite historical character. I have always borne this in view in forming the collection, although I by no means believe that this principle should be carried out pedantically in details. With respect to the plaster casts which you will probably wish to incorporate as a whole with the existing collection of casts, it would be very desirable to have a few duplicates made of these for the Egyptian saloons, for the sake of rendering them complete.

But what especially induces me to write from hence on such matters, is the notion that even now, or perhaps very soon, you may have made such progress in the edifice as to be desirous of coming to a decision with reference to the architectonic and pictorial decoration of the saloons, and in that case a few observations may not perhaps be unacceptable from me.

You will, no doubt, select _Egyptian architecture_ for the Egyptian saloons; this should by all means be carried out in every part, and by what I hear from Hertel, there is still ample time for this. I think, for instance, that to produce a general harmonious impression the architectural style of ranges of columns, which is characteristic of different periods, should be retained in their historical succession of series, as well as with all their rich decoration of colouring.

The coloured paintings on the walls are, however, then indispensable. Every temple, every tomb, every wall in the palaces of the Egyptians was decorated from top to bottom with painted sculptures or paintings. The first inquiry must be, in what style these paintings should be executed. They might either be _free compositions in the Greek style_, or strictly _Egyptian representations, avoiding, however, Egyptian perspective_, therefore a kind of translation, somewhat in the manner of the frieze on the wall in the _Musée Charles X._; or, lastly, they might be simple _copies of genuine Egyptian representations_ drawn by us, and only adapted for this particular purpose. With respect to the _first_ view, I think that a man like CORNELIUS, if he chose to enter on such a completely new field, would be capable of forming a beautiful and great work out of such a task; but then, the public would most likely be much more interested in the master than in the subject of the representation derived from a history of which they are still so ignorant. The _second_ method would perhaps deserve a trial; it might succeed once, in a single case, and would certainly then not be devoid of interest. But I am firmly persuaded that a series of any length of such bastard representations would not fulfil the requisite demands, presupposing, as they would, a double mastery of two artistic languages, and that they would also be decidedly contrary to the taste of the public. All attempts of this nature that I have occasionally seen have, in my opinion, been completely unsuccessful, and have appeared ridiculous to connoisseurs; although, as I have already said, I do not believe that such an attempt might not succeed in an individual case, if the subject were carefully selected. It therefore appears to me, that the _third_ method is the only one left, although it has least pretension; but it unites so many advantages, that I believe, indeed, it will also meet with your approval.

There can scarcely be any doubt with respect to the subject of the representations. They ought to place before us in characteristic features the highest point of Egyptian history, civilisation, and art, and I was even astonished at the great number of most suitable subjects which immediately present themselves, if we allow all that has been hitherto disclosed of Egyptian history to pass before us. Merely to give you a hasty notion of this, I will communicate the individual points, which I wrote down when I was still doubtful whether one of the two first modes of representation might not be executed. A more diffuse commentary than I can now give ought indeed to be appended to this, but it only refers to a very preliminary notion. The names within brackets indicate where materials could be found for single compositions.

PRE-HISTORICAL.

The elevation of the god HORUS upon OSIRIS’ gods’ throne.
(Dendera.) To be placed with reference to the last number.

OLD MONARCHY.

Dyn. I. The removal of MENES from This, the city of Osiris.

Foundation of MEMPHIS, the town of Phtha by Menes.

Dyn. IV. The Pyramids built by CHEOPS and CHEPHREN.

Dyn. VI. The union of the two crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt
during the reign of APAPPUS, which lasted a hundred years.

Dyn. XII. The Temple of Ammon in THEBES, the city of Ammon,
founded by SESURTESEN I. in the 12th Dynasty.

Immigrating HYKSOS. (Benihassan.)

The LABYRINTH and LAKE MŒRIS, the works of AMENEMHA III. of the
12th Dynasty.

Dyn. XIII. The INVASION OF THE HYKSOS into Lower Egypt, occurring
shortly after.

Expulsion of the Egyptian rulers to Ethiopia.

The rule of the Hyksos.

NEW MONARCHY.

Dyn. XVII.-XVIII. AMENOPHIS I. and the black Queen Aahmesnefruari.

TUTHMOSIS III. expels the HYKSOS from Abaris. JERUSALEM founded
by them.

AMENOPHIS III. Memnon and the sounding statue.

Persecution of the Egyptian gods, and introduction of the worship
of the sun, under BECH EN ATEN. (Amarna.) King HORUS, the
Revenger.

Dyn. XIX. SETHÔS I. (Sethôsis, Sesostris.) Conquest of CANAAN.
(Karnak.) Joseph and his brethren.

RAMSES II. the Great. Miamun. War against the Cheta. (Ramesseum.)

The (brick-making) Israelites (Thebes) build Pithom and Ramses,
under Ramses II.

Colonisation of GREECE from Egypt.

MENEPTHES. EXODUS OF THE ISRAELITES to Sinai. Moses before
Pharaoh. Commencement of the new SIRIUS PERIOD, B.C. 1322.

Dyn. XX. RAMSES III. A battle from Medînet Hâbu.

The king among his daughters. The riches and luxury of
Rhampsinitus. (Medînet Hâbu.)

Dyn. XXII. SCHESCHENK I. (Shishak) takes possession of Jerusalem.
(Thebes.)

Dyn. XXV. SABAKO, the Ethiopian, rules in Egypt.

Dyn. XXVI. PSAMMETICUS, the friend of the Greeks, elevates art.
Removal of the warrior caste to Ethiopia.

Dyn. XXVII. CAMBYSES rages; he destroys temples and statues.

Dyn. XXX. NECTANEBUS. (Philæ.)

ALEXANDER, the son of Ammon, conquers Egypt; builds Alexandria.

Ptolemy PHILADELPHUS founds the library.

CLEOPATRA and CÆSARION. (Dendera.)

Coronation of CÆSAR AUGUSTUS. (Philæ.)

CHRIST at Heliopolis.

This selection would not, indeed, be so great, if we had only to deal with existing representations. The Old Monarchy would first commence with the 4th Dynasty, and would entirely omit the Hyksos period, since nothing has been preserved before the former period, or from the time of the Hyksos.

On the other hand, the Egyptian conceptions of art might be more completely represented, and each single representation would at the same time have a scientific interest. The following provisional selection which occurred to me might, however, be increased, and altered in all its parts from the ample supply of subjects in our drawings, which are 1300 in number.

MYTHOLOGY.

1. The great and minor gods; the 1st and 2nd Dynasty of the gods.
(Karnak.)

2. OSIRIS undertakes the government of the lower world. HORUS
that of the upper. (Dendera.)

3. Triad of the gods from THIS and ABYDOS. Osiris, Isis, Horus.

4. Triad of the gods from MEMPHIS. Phtha, Pasht, Imhotep.

5. Triad of the gods from THEBES. Ammon Ra, Mut, Chensu.

OLD MONARCHY.

King CHUFU (Cheops) beheading his enemies. (Peninsula of Sinai.)

Scenes from private life of the 4th and 5th Dynasties. (Giseh and
Saqâra.)

APAPPUS unites the two crowns. (Kossêr road.)

SESURTESEN I., of the 12th Dynasty, beats the Ethiopians.
(Florence.)

Scenes from private life of the peaceful flourishing period of
the 12th Dynasty. Asiatic attendants. Precursors of the Hyksos;
wrestlers, games, a hunt, &c. (Benihassan.) The Colossus dragged
by men. (Berscheh.)

Immigrating HYKSOS who seek for protection. (Benihassan.)

NEW MONARCHY.

The working of the stone quarries of Memphis. (Tura.)

AMENOPHIS I. and Aahmesnefruari. (Thebes.)

TUTHMOSIS III. and his sister. (Thebes; Rome.)

TUTHMOSIS III. Tribute. Erection of obelisks. (Thebes.)

AMENOPHIS III. (Memnon) and his consort Tii before Ammon Ra.
(Thebes.)

March of an Ethiopian queen to Egypt under AMENTUANCH. (Thebes.)

AMENOPHIS IV. (Bech-en-aten), the SUN-WORSHIPPER. His procession
with the queen and four princesses drawn in a chariot to the
Temple of the Sun in Amarna. (Grottoes of Amarna.)

A favourite is borne on the shoulders of the people before
Amenophis IV. Distribution of wreaths of honour among the whole
of the royal family.

HORUS running to Ammon. (Karnak.)

SETHÔS I. makes war upon Canaan. (Karnak.)

RAMSES II. Battle against the Asiatic Cheta. (Ramesseum.)

The same in the Tree of Life. (Ramesseum.)

The same triumphant. Royal procession. (Ramesseum.)

RAMSES III. Battle against the Robu. (Medînet Hâbu.)

The same among his daughters; he plays with them. (Medînet Hâbu.)

RAMSES XII. Procession of great pomp to Ammon. (Qurna.)

PISCHEM, the Priest King. (Karnak.)

SCHESCHENK I. (Shishak) brings the prisoners from Palestine
before Ammon (Karnak), King of JUDAH.

SABAKO, the Ethiopian. (Thebes.)

TAHRAKA, the Ethiopian. (Barkal.)

PSAMMETICUS, Amasis. (Thebes.)

NECTANEBUS. (Thebes.)

ALEXANDER. PHILIP ARIDÆUS. (Thebes.)

PTOLEMY PHILADELPHUS. (Thebes.)

CLEOPATRA and CÆSARION. (Dendera.)

Coronation of CÆSAR AUGUSTUS. (Philæ.)

Ethiopian subjects from MERÖE.

This selection of representations, or one similar to this, as large as the partitions in the walls permit, executed in the strict Egyptian classic style, with the full, splendid colouring of the original, would have the great advantage, beyond all other methods, of giving the spectator some idea on a great scale of Egyptian art; the subjects would force themselves on his criticism, and the study of them, in conjunction with the smaller and isolated original monuments, would be more complete. For, with the exception of the tombs which we are now taking to pieces, and which only offer the most simple subjects, no monument is of sufficient size to give a notion of Egyptian temples, and of wall decoration in general, in which grandeur of idea and dexterity of composition is frequently displayed with a feeling for general harmony in the distribution and arrangement of the whole, most astonishing to the attentive observer. Such a selection of what is most beautiful and characteristic, in large representations, capable of being easily surveyed, would perhaps be of more service than any other thing in imparting Egyptian science to a larger proportion of the public, and at the same time offers the advantage, which is hardly sufficiently considered at the present day, of averting all invidious criticisms of the representations regarded as modern works. All hasty critics would, by this method, be referred to the original, which cannot be robbed of its most important position in the artistic history of the human race, by a miserable journalist. They would all learn that before venturing to criticise the faithful copy, they must first study the original, for if we can turn the attention of those young artists who have studied for three years to record these things, I am certain that the classic purity of their style will not easily be attacked. The novelty of the idea, and the effect on a large scale, and as a whole, could not fail to make a considerable impression on the learned and unlearned public, and the series of subjects mentioned above, independent of their execution, would afford satisfaction to intellectual men, and more especially to the King. Lastly, in addition to this, it might be executed at a comparatively small expense, on account of the perfect simplicity of the design and colouring, and because all expenditure on the artistic composition has been previously borne by the ancient Egyptians themselves.

The representations should only commence at a certain height, according to the manners of the Egyptians, and as is most convenient to our own purpose, and should rest on a deep band below, the colour of which ought to be an imitation of wood or stone. The lofty walls should probably be partly divided one above the other into several sections, and perhaps the whole series of the Egyptian Pharaohs, or their Name-Shields only, might be introduced in the frieze. The ceilings in the ante-chambers might be blue, with gold stars, the usual representation of the Egyptian heavens; and in the historical saloons there might be the long series of vultures, with outspread wings, the symbol of victory, with which most of the ceilings of the temples and palaces are decorated, in an incomparably splendid manner. Finally, a certain amount of hieroglyphic inscriptions must not be absent, which are so essentially connected with all Egyptian representations, and make a splendid impression in variegated colours. Modern hieroglyphic inscriptions might be easily composed for the doors, and the central stripes of the ceilings, which would refer in the ancient Egyptian fashion to the munificence of the king, the locality, the period, and the purpose of the building. How magnificent the two Egyptian rows of columns would then look in the centre of all, with their simplicity and rich colouring!

Finally, another idea might be carried out, perhaps, in the ante-chambers. Views of the Egyptian localities at the present day might be introduced upon the walls, to give a notion of the country to a person on first entering, and of the state of the buildings from which the ancient monuments, by which they are surrounded, are taken. These views might be also arranged historically, according to the principal places in the different epochs of time. But here we must presume that the spectator possesses some of the historical knowledge which we may hope to see generally diffused. On that account it would be more useful to attempt a geographical sequence, and we might embrace the views of Alexandria, Cairo, the Pyramids of Giseh, Siut, Benihassan, Abydos, Karnak, Qurna, the Cataracts of Assuan, Korusko, Wadi Halfa, Sedeïnga, Semneh, Dongola, Barkal, Meröe, Chartûm, Sennâr, and Sarbut el Châdem, in Arabia Petræa.

Besides all this, a most rich, interesting, and at the same time useful, selection of the subjects and occupations of private life might be introduced in the lateral chambers, all of them copied from the original, on a large scale, by which means we might facilitate and excite both an inviting and effective mode of comprehending that portion of the collection of antiquities which refer to private life.