Recording and collecting antiquities with Robert Hay 1824-1834
Wed, 16 Mar 2022 19:00 - 20:30 Greenwich Mean Time (UTC±0)
Tickets (£3) here.
Friends of the Egypt Centre lecture by Gemma Renshaw on the recording and collecting antiquities with Robert Hay 1824-1834
About this event
Title:
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Truth and understanding
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‘Yanni said he had never seen one of that form before’ – Recording and collecting antiquities with Robert Hay 1824-1834
Abstract:
Robert Hay’s collection of drawings, notes and journals has been described by Egyptologists and historians as ‘of the highest importance,’ ‘must be seen to be appreciated,’ and ‘the most substantial product of a great age of copying.’ Yet, his work has only ever been published minimally in other works and the majority of his collection of antiquities – divided between the British Museum and Boston Museum of Fine Arts – are largely not on display. Hay visited almost every major site in Egypt that was known in the 19th century as well as many in Northern Sudan, copying hundreds of inscriptions, making detailed drawings of Egyptian art and antiquities and taking views of villages and monuments. Consisting of over 7000 individual folios, the range of material in the Hay archive is enormous. Comparisons of Hay’s copies of objects with the originals that we know of show that he had good attention to detail and his work can largely be trusted. There is a whole volume of drawings of ‘antiquities’ and many pages interspersed throughout the other volumes that also contain drawings and paintings of objects. For items that we don’t know the locations of, or if they have survived to today, we can at least say those things existed and were seen by Hay in the 1820s or 30s, most likely having been found during those years. This lecture is a short introduction to Hay, his collection and the antiquities that we find recorded in the archive.
Bio:
Gemma Renshaw has a BA and MA in Egyptology and is currently working towards a PhD in archaeology under the supervision of Professor Stephanie Moser at Southampton University. She is a museum professional, working in the sector since 2007, and is the former Collections Manager for Care and Teaching Facilitation at UCL Culture. Her PhD research focuses on Robert Hay’s expedition archive and the impact of his work on the developing discipline of Egyptology. Other interests include Third Intermediate Period coffins, the William Henry Fox Talbot collection at the British Library and reception of ancient Egypt in museum collections, art and video games.
Tickets:
Tickets for this event cost £3, with proceeds going to support the Egypt Centre. Upon booking, you will receive an automated email from Eventbrite with a link to the Zoom event. If you have not received this within 24 hours of booking, please contact Ken at k.griffin@swansea.ac.uk
If you are a member of the Friends of the Egypt Centre, you will automatically be sent the Zoom link to attend.
