Egyptological dealers? Reconsidering the business of Egyptian archaeology and the supply of museum objects

The end of the 19th and start of the 20th centuries saw an Egyptian antiquities rush, where an international desire to collect objects was enabled by vast numbers of excavations and a legal antiquities trade. Keen not to be left behind or overshadowed by their peers The Royal Scottish Museum (today, National Museums Scotland) began to pursue varied means of acquisition, including art market purchasing, commissioned buying from archaeologists, funding work in Egypt, and sending their own staff to join excavations. Egyptological historiography has frequently focussed on the apparently heroic actions of its foundational academics, though their actions as buyers has been recognised, their wider role as suppliers and vendors of antiquities has not been fully explored. Indeed, though conforming to several definitions of ‘dealing’, Egyptology has been reticent to label its excavators as dealers. This paper proposes a model of the business of Egyptian archaeology that centred on the transfer of financial, archaeological, and social capital. Museums formed a key part of this cycle as they were regularly the destination of exported objects that in turn encouraged future financial support.

This paper will present examples of transactions detailed in museum documentation, excavators’ correspondence, and related archives to discuss the nature of this business. This highlights the importance of financial valuations and several common market ‘myths’ utilised by excavator-collectors to justify their continued sales and funding arrangements.