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Our Dark Materials: Rediscovering an Egyptian Collection

Bernard Pyne Grenfell

(1869-1926)

Bernard Grenfell was a pioneering papyrologist, specializing in the translation of ancient Egyptian writing systems. He trained under William Petrie and worked closely with Arthur Hunt to establish the field. They jointly led archaeological expeditions to recover papyri, including at the middle Egypt site of Bahnasa (Oxyrhynchus) on behalf of the Graeco-Roman Branch of the Egypt Exploration Society. Like many of its best provenanced Egyptian materials, Grenfell and Hunt's finds came to Stanford University through Timothy Hopkins' subscription to the EEF. Grenfell and Hunt's excavations were approved by Gaston Maspero, the influential Director of Egypt's Antiquities Service.

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Tweezers were commonplace in ancient Egypt and often used in conjunction with mirrors. Early tweezers like these were used by individuals to pluck hairs—much like in our own society. Egyptologists also believe that certain tweezers were used as tongs to hold pots over ovens. The difference in function came down to size; larger tweezers were necessary for cooking, while smaller tweezers, such as these, were meant for one’s body.
Used in tandem with a mirror, this decorative hairpin offers yet another material connection between ancient personal practices and those of contemporary society. A luxury item, hairpins were used by wealthy Roman Egyptian women to maintain their elaborate hairstyles. Although many hairpins were straight, some, like this one, were crescent-shaped. Of a type known as an orbis, this piece was meant to be seen, simultaneously showing an Egyptian aesthetic and acting as a status symbol.
A seemingly simple combination of a rod and chain links tells a story of appearance in ancient Egypt. Jewelry was an important component of everyday life of all classes in ancient and later Egypt. Gold and copper were typically reserved for the wealthy; however, the technology of bronze provided luxury at a fraction of the cost. We believe this bronze rod and chain was most likely a jewelry component, perhaps securing a necklace or wrist bangle, worn by a working member of later Egyptian society.
Perhaps taking inspiration from Mesopotamian technology, ancient Egyptians crafted this decorated item to keep valuables secure in life and death. It entered the collection with fragments of jewelry, so we assume this lock once kept jewelry protected from thieves or tomb robbers. Adornments were so commonplace in ancient Egypt, jewelry was a “luxury” that became almost a necessity. Thus, many people needed a place to keep it safe. This piece draws further parallels between contemporary and ancient experiences. Just as we have special places to put valuables, so too did ancient Egyptians.

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(1871-1934)
Arthur Hunt was a pioneering papyrologist, specializing in the translation of ancient Egyptian writing systems. He worked closely with Bernard Grenfell to establish the field. They jointly led archaeological expeditions to recover papyri, including at the middle Egypt site of Bahnasa (Oxyrhynchus) on behalf of the Graeco-Roman Branch of the Egypt Exploration Society. Like many of its best provenanced Egyptian materials, Grenfell and Hunt's finds came to Stanford University through Timothy Hopkin's subscription to the EEF. Hunt and Grenfell's excavations were approved by Gaston Maspero, the influential Director of Egypt's Antiquities Service.
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1. Bernard Pyne Grenfell
  (1869-1926)
  Bernard Grenfell was a pioneering papyrologist, specializing in the translation of ancient Egyptian writing systems. He trained under William Petrie and worked closely with Arthur Hunt to establish the field. They jointly led archaeological expeditions to recover papyri, including at the middle Egypt site of Bahnasa (Oxyrhynchus) on behalf of the Graeco-Roman Branch of the Egypt Exploration Society. Like many of its best provenanced Egyptian materials, Grenfell and Hunt's finds came to Stanford University through Timothy Hopkins' subscription to the EEF. Grenfell and Hunt's excavations were approved by Gaston Maspero, the influential Director of Egypt's Antiquities Service.
2. Timothy Hopkins
  (1859-1936)
  Timothy Hopkins was a protégé of Jane and Leland Stanford and an influential early Stanford University trustee. He also was a keen collector and acquired cultural items from around the world for the growing collections of the University Museum. Hopkins subscribed to the Egypt Exploration Fund. He joined in 1900 or 1901 by paying $125 for a “life membership.” The EEF sent him many items, anticipating they would be donated to Stanford's museum. Hopkins also took at least two trips to Egypt and likely purchased items there. His handwritten journal mentions stays at the iconic Shepheard’s Hotel in Cairo in both 1892/1893 and 1928.
3. Gaston Camille Charles Maspero
  (1846-1916)
  Gaston Maspero was among the most powerful figures in early Egyptology. He served as Director of the Egyptian Museum, where Émile Brugsch was his assistant curator. He eventually became Director of the Antiquities Service, authorizing excavations by Bernard Grenfell, Arthur Hunt, William Petrie, Henri Naville, and many others. He also found time to write an encyclopedic history of Egyptian civilization, edited by linguist Archibald Sayce. He was known for his exceptional understanding of ancient Egyptian language and writing, as well as for his efforts to weaken the illegal trade in Egyptian antiquities. In 1901, Maspero authenticated the Stanford Museum's N. D. Kyticas collection, which Jane Stanford had purchased in 1901 in Cairo. Maspero judged them to be "worthy to be exhibited in any Museum of Europe or America."
(1846-1916)
Gaston Maspero was among the most powerful figures in early Egyptology. He served as Director of the Egyptian Museum, where Émile Brugsch was his assistant curator. He eventually became Director of the Antiquities Service, authorizing excavations by Bernard Grenfell, Arthur Hunt, William Petrie, Henri Naville, and many others. He also found time to write an encyclopedic history of Egyptian civilization, edited by linguist Archibald Sayce. He was known for his exceptional understanding of ancient Egyptian language and writing, as well as for his efforts to weaken the illegal trade in Egyptian antiquities. In 1901, Maspero authenticated the Stanford Museum's N. D. Kyticas collection, which Jane Stanford had purchased in 1901 in Cairo. Maspero judged them to be "worthy to be exhibited in any Museum of Europe or America."
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1. N. D. Kyticas N. D. Kyticas has not been identified. However, other members of the Kyticas family were known antiquities dealers in Cairo. Panayotis Kyticas was a well-connected Greek antiquities dealer operating in Cairo, Egypt during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He specialized in Greek and Roman period Egyptian items. Kyticas's shop was advantageously located next to the famous Shepheard's Hotel and operating as early as 1879. His son Denis Panayotis Kyticas took over his father's business when Panayotis died in 1924. Émile Brugsch served as an intermediary between Kyticas and Jane Stanford. Stanford's Kyticas collection was authenticated in 1901 by Gaston Maspero, who judged it to be “worthy to be exhibited in any Museum of Europe or America." In 1917, Archibald Sayce also pronounced it a fine collection, although unfortunately seriously damaged by the 1906 earthquake.
2. Émile Charles Adalbert Brugsch
  (1842-1930)
  The Egyptologist Émile Brugsch served as assistant curator of the Boulaq Museum in Luxor, Egypt, under Gaston Maspero. Brugsch later became Director of the museum, which eventually moved to Cairo to form the core collection of the current Egyptian Museum. Brugsch's older brother, Heinrich Brugsch, was the more prominent Egyptologist. Émile Brugsch had been a saloon keeper in America, among other pursuits; his photographic skill was perhaps more relevant to his new profession in Egypt. He is known for his role as middleman between foreign collectors and Cairo-based dealers and museums with antiquities to sell. It is this role that connects him to Stanford: Émile Brugsch liaised between Jane Stanford and N. D. Kyticas and selected the antiquities included in that sale. Stanford may have met Brugsch through their mutual acquaintance, Chauncey Murch. Brugsch also sold her some of his wife's Egyptian collection. Brugsch was granted the honorific "Bey" by the government of Ottoman Egypt, an association so strong it is treated as part of his name in some of Stanford's records.
3. Jane Lathrop Stanford
  (1828-1905)
  Jane Stanford supported her son Leland Stanford Jr.'s interest in archaeology and antiquities during his life and continued collecting in his memory after his death at the age of fifteen. When her husband, Leland Stanford, was alive, they both acquired and donated items from Egypt and other places for the Leland Stanford Junior Memorial University Museum. Her work continued after her husband's death, taking her on two trips to Egypt to network with dealers and acquire antiquities in person. Stanford's personal secretary, Bertha Berner, joined her for both trips: the first in 1901, the second in the winter of 1903/1904. Stanford worked closely with Harry Peterson, the first curator of the university's museum.
4. Bernard Pyne Grenfell
  (1869-1926)
  Bernard Grenfell was a pioneering papyrologist, specializing in the translation of ancient Egyptian writing systems. He trained under William Petrie and worked closely with Arthur Hunt to establish the field. They jointly led archaeological expeditions to recover papyri, including at the middle Egypt site of Bahnasa (Oxyrhynchus) on behalf of the Graeco-Roman Branch of the Egypt Exploration Society. Like many of its best provenanced Egyptian materials, Grenfell and Hunt's finds came to Stanford University through Timothy Hopkins' subscription to the EEF. Grenfell and Hunt's excavations were approved by Gaston Maspero, the influential Director of Egypt's Antiquities Service.
5. Arthur Surridge Hunt
  (1871-1934)
  Arthur Hunt was a pioneering papyrologist, specializing in the translation of ancient Egyptian writing systems. He worked closely with Bernard Grenfell to establish the field. They jointly led archaeological expeditions to recover papyri, including at the middle Egypt site of Bahnasa (Oxyrhynchus) on behalf of the Graeco-Roman Branch of the Egypt Exploration Society. Like many of its best provenanced Egyptian materials, Grenfell and Hunt's finds came to Stanford University through Timothy Hopkin's subscription to the EEF. Hunt and Grenfell's excavations were approved by Gaston Maspero, the influential Director of Egypt's Antiquities Service.
6. Henri Édouard Naville
  (1844-1926)
  The Swiss archaeologist Henri Naville was an important figure in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Egyptology. His field projects were supported by the Egypt Exploration Fund, for whom he worked after 1882 excavating and publishing on numerous significant sites, all approved by Antiquities Director Gaston Maspero. Naville was succeeded in this position by William Petrie. Items excavated by Naville, including from the famous mortuary site of Deir el-Bahari, came to Stanford thanks to Timothy Hopkins' EEF subscription.
7. Archibald Henry Sayce
  (1845-1933)
  The Reverend Dr. Archibald Sayce was a noted Assyriologist, linguist, and Biblical archaeologist. He developed an interest in ancient Egyptian later in his career, wintering in Egypt for his health. Sayce went on to edit Director of Antiquities Gaston Maspero's multi-volume history of ancient Egypt. Sayce provided translations of hieroglyphic writing on a few items in Stanford's collection, including two canopic jars. In 1917, marking the lingering impact of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, he pronounced Stanford's N. D. Kyticas collection to be “very fine, though lamentably smashed up.”
8. William Matthew Flinders Petrie
  (1853-1942)
  William Petrie is best known for advancing professional archaeological methods and championing the value of context and objects of daily life. Petrie is also noted for his early, and at the time unusual, interest in periods both before and after Pharaonic Egypt. He was a remarkably active excavator in Egypt (and elsewhere) over several decades, regularly collaborating with his wife Hilda Mary Isabel Urlin Petrie, a geologist and artist. From 1884-1886 and 1896-1905, William Petrie's field projects were supported by the Egypt Exploration Fund. Timothy Hopkins' generosity to the EEF brought items from Petrie's excavations to Stanford. Petrie's excavations were approved by Gaston Maspero, the influential Director of Egypt's Antiquities Services. From 1884-1886 and 1896-1905, Petrie worked for the Egypt Exploration Fund, following Édouard Naville in that role.

(1869-1926)

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(1871-1934)

(1846-1916)

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(1869-1926)

(1871-1934)

(1846-1916)