Bernardino Drovetti: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Italian diplomat, explorer and scholar}} |
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{{Infobox person | name = Bernardino Drovetti | image = Bernardino Drovetti.jpg | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1776|1|7}} | birth_place = Barbania | death_date = {{Death date and age|1852|3|5|1776|1|7}} | death_place = Turin | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | nationality =Italian-French | other_names = | known_for =| education = | employer = | occupation =Antiquities collector, diplomat, politician | title = | height = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | boards = | spouse = | partner = | children = | parents =| relatives = | signature = | website = | footnotes = }} |
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'''Bernardino Michele Maria Drovetti''' (January 7, 1776 – March 5, 1852) was an [[Italia]]n antiquities looter, diplomat, and politician. He is best remembered for having acquired the [[Turin Royal Canon]] and for his questionable behavior in collecting [[ancient Egypt]]ian antiquities.<ref name=www>{{cite book |last=Dawson |first=Warren R. |author-link=Warren R. Dawson |date=1951 |title=Who Was Who in Egyptology |location= London |publisher= Harrison & sons (reprint 1972) }}, p. 90</ref> |
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'''Bernardino Michele Maria Drovetti''' (4 January 1776 - 1852) was an [[Italy|Italian]] diplomat, lawyer, explorer and antiquarian, appointed by [[Napoleon]] as [[France|French]] [[consul]] to [[Egypt]] at a time when the country and its antiquities were being opened rapidly to European knowledge and acquisition. His methods were deplorable. If twenty alabaster vases were found in a tomb, he would see to it that half were smashed to bring up their price. He would break off the pyramidion (top portion) off of an [[obelisk]] to make it easier to transport, etc. But statues of him were raised in his native Italy for services rendered in gathering together the magnificent works of Egyptian art and astonishingly beautiful papyri for Europe.<ref name="Drov02">[http://www.travellersinegypt.org/archives/2005/04/bernardino_drovetti.html Drovetti at Travelers in Egypt]</ref> |
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==Biography== |
==Biography== |
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Born in [[Barbania]], a ''[[comune]]'' near [[Turin]] in the kingdom of [[Piedmont-Sardinia]], Drovetti later obtained the [[France|French]] nationality and joined the French army, eventually rising to the rank of ''[[Chef d'escadron]]''. As an official, during the [[French campaign in Egypt and Syria|French campaign in Egypt]] (1798–99) he distinguished himself by saving the life of [[Joachim Murat]], and later he became the French [[Consul (representative)|Consul]]-General of Egypt during both the [[First French Empire|Empire]] (until 1814) and the [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Bourbon Restoration]], between 1820 and 1829. He also earned [[Wāli]] [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt|Muhammad Ali]]'s trust and had a role in some of the latter's administrative reforms. In 1820, he was awarded the title of ''[[Chevalier dans l'Ordre de la Legion d'Honneur]]''.<ref name=www/> |
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===Early life=== |
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He was born in [[Barbania]] in the kingdom of [[Piedmont-Sardinia]] to Giorgio Francesco Drovetti and Anna Vacca Vittoria. His older brother Giuseppe was a lawyer and his younger brother Luigi was a priest. Nothing is known of his sister. He was schooled at the College delle Provincie |
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During his stay in Egypt, Drovetti became a passionate and avid collector of Egyptian antiquities. He engaged several agents and was particularly active in [[Luxor]]; shortly he gathered huge amounts of findings which he managed to sell in Europe.<ref name=www/> His first collection was refused by France, but was acquired by King [[Charles Felix of Sardinia]] in 1824 and carried to Turin, where it became the first core of the future [[Museo Egizio]]. Another collection was purchased by King [[Charles X of France]] and is now stored at the [[Louvre]]. A third one was acquired by [[Karl Richard Lepsius]] in 1836 and carried in [[Prussia]] in order of being accommodated in the [[Egyptian Museum of Berlin]].<ref name=www/> Among the antiquities sold to the [[King of Sardinia]], there was the invaluable [[Turin Royal Canon]], a [[papyrus]] bearing a list of several [[pharaoh]]s which is datable to the reign of [[Ramesses II]] and which was found by Drovetti at Luxor in 1820. |
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After graduating in [[Turin]] he joined the army in the ([[Hussars]]) which was incorporated into the French army. In the spring of 1801 Drovetti was [[Ministry of War|War minister]] in Piedmont and [[Chief of Staff]] to the Piemontese Division in the French army. Later that same year he also became a [[judge]] in Turin. |
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Later in his life, Drovetti lost his mind and was [[involuntary commitment|confined]] in a [[lunatic asylum]] at Turin. He died there on March 5, 1852.<ref name=www/> |
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===Egypt=== |
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In 1803 Napoleon sent Drovetti and [[Matthieu de Lesseps]] to Egypt as diplomatic 'Commissioners for Foreign Relations' to monitor the complex situation. He dealt with the [[Ali Pasha]] who acted as [[Viceroy]] for the [[Ottoman Turks]]. In 1815 he left the post of consul but remained in Egypt, traveling, excavating and dealing in antiquities. In 1821 he was reappointed as Consul General of France in Egypt. He retired from that post in 1829. |
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==Legacy== |
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Drovetti both traded antiquities and assembled his own collection, competing with rivals collectors such as [[Giovanni Belzoni]] and the British consul [[Henry Salt (Egyptologist)|Henry Salt]], and leading to disputes such as that of the [[obelisk]] in [[Philae]] found at the temple of [[Abu Simbel]]. |
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While he contributed significantly to the creation of [[List of museums of Egyptian antiquities|three of the largest Egyptological collections]] in Europe and substantially increased the [[Ancient Egypt in the Western imagination|European interest in ancient Egypt]], Drovetti is also remembered for his ruthlessness towards other collectors and excavators. He was particularly hostile against [[Henry Salt (Egyptologist)|Henry Salt]], [[Giovanni Battista Belzoni]] and [[Jean-François Champollion]]:<ref name=www/> for example, during his excavations at Luxor around 1818 and later, Belzoni reported to have been harassed by two of Drovetti's agents, [[Antonio Lebolo]] and a certain Rosignani;<ref>Dawson (1951), pp. 166; 253</ref> Drovetti also tried several times to hinder Champollion's [[Jean-François Champollion#Franco-Tuscan Expedition|expedition in Egypt]] (1827–28), likely to prevent a competitor in his affairs.<ref>{{cite book |last=Robinson |first=Andrew |date=2012 |title= Cracking the Egyptian Code: The Revolutionary Life of Jean-Francois Champollion |publisher= Oxford University Press }}, pp. 179-81</ref> Drovetti and his agents were also deemed careless and unscrupulous in their conduct towards their discoveries, and it is believed that the fragmentary state of the Turin Royal Canon is at least partially due to this behaviour.<ref name=www/> |
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Drovetti also traveled and dealt with collectors such as Jean-Jacques Rifaud, [[Frederic Cailliaud]], [[Robert Richardson]], Alessandro Ricci, Enegildo Frediani, Carlo Vidua, Edouard Montule, [[Franz Christian Gau]], Linant de Belle Fund, [[Edme Jomard]] and Jean Dubois Ayme. |
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==See also== |
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Rifaud and Cailliaud were his traveling companions in the early days, when they passed the second Cataract on the Nile and found the temple of Abu Simbel. Cailliaud was a French mineralogist, geologist and stone collector who Drovetti introduced to the Ali Pasha in order to gain a mandate to hunt for the [[emerald]] mines of [[Ptolemy]]. |
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* [[List of Egyptologists#D|List of Egyptologists]] |
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==References== |
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All of Drovetti's work was collected in the name of France, but he also sold antiquities to the highest bidder, and is reputed to have orchestrated exorbitantly high prices. In 1824, King [[Charles Felix of Sardinia]] acquired much of the personal collection of Drovetti (5,268 pieces, including 100 statues, 170 papyri, stelae, mummies, and other items), these went to the [[University of Turin]] and formed the foundation for the [[Museo Egizio]] in [[Turin]]. |
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==Further reading== |
==Further reading== |
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{{Commons category|Bernardino Drovetti}} |
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*Ronald T. |
* {{cite book |last=Ridly |first=Ronald T. |date=1998 |title= Napoleon's Proconsul In Egypt: The Life and Times of Bernardino Drovetti |publisher= Rubicon Press |isbn= 0-948695-59-5 }} |
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==External links== |
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*[http://www.travellersinegypt.org/archives/2005/04/bernardino_drovetti.html A biography of Bernardino Drovetti at the Travellers in Egypt web site] |
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==References== |
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{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. --> |
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| NAME = Drovetti, Bernardino |
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| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = |
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| SHORT DESCRIPTION = |
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| DATE OF BIRTH = 4 January 1776 |
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| PLACE OF BIRTH = |
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| DATE OF DEATH = 1852 |
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| PLACE OF DEATH = |
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}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Drovetti, Bernardino}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drovetti, Bernardino}} |
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[[Category:1776 births]] |
[[Category:1776 births]] |
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[[Category:1852 deaths]] |
[[Category:1852 deaths]] |
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[[Category:Italian Egyptologists]] |
[[Category:Italian Egyptologists]] |
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[[Category:Italian explorers of Africa]] |
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[[Category:Italian |
[[Category:19th-century Italian explorers]] |
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[[Category:Italian |
[[Category:19th-century Italian criminals]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:19th-century Italian diplomats]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:People from the Metropolitan City of Turin]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars]] |
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Latest revision as of 05:36, 23 November 2024
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2016) |
Bernardino Drovetti | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 7, 1776 Barbania |
| Died | March 5, 1852 (aged 76) Turin |
| Nationality | Italian-French |
| Occupation(s) | Antiquities collector, diplomat, politician |
Bernardino Michele Maria Drovetti (January 7, 1776 – March 5, 1852) was an Italian antiquities looter, diplomat, and politician. He is best remembered for having acquired the Turin Royal Canon and for his questionable behavior in collecting ancient Egyptian antiquities.[1]
Biography
[edit]Born in Barbania, a comune near Turin in the kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, Drovetti later obtained the French nationality and joined the French army, eventually rising to the rank of Chef d'escadron. As an official, during the French campaign in Egypt (1798–99) he distinguished himself by saving the life of Joachim Murat, and later he became the French Consul-General of Egypt during both the Empire (until 1814) and the Bourbon Restoration, between 1820 and 1829. He also earned Wāli Muhammad Ali's trust and had a role in some of the latter's administrative reforms. In 1820, he was awarded the title of Chevalier dans l'Ordre de la Legion d'Honneur.[1]
During his stay in Egypt, Drovetti became a passionate and avid collector of Egyptian antiquities. He engaged several agents and was particularly active in Luxor; shortly he gathered huge amounts of findings which he managed to sell in Europe.[1] His first collection was refused by France, but was acquired by King Charles Felix of Sardinia in 1824 and carried to Turin, where it became the first core of the future Museo Egizio. Another collection was purchased by King Charles X of France and is now stored at the Louvre. A third one was acquired by Karl Richard Lepsius in 1836 and carried in Prussia in order of being accommodated in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin.[1] Among the antiquities sold to the King of Sardinia, there was the invaluable Turin Royal Canon, a papyrus bearing a list of several pharaohs which is datable to the reign of Ramesses II and which was found by Drovetti at Luxor in 1820.
Later in his life, Drovetti lost his mind and was confined in a lunatic asylum at Turin. He died there on March 5, 1852.[1]
Legacy
[edit]While he contributed significantly to the creation of three of the largest Egyptological collections in Europe and substantially increased the European interest in ancient Egypt, Drovetti is also remembered for his ruthlessness towards other collectors and excavators. He was particularly hostile against Henry Salt, Giovanni Battista Belzoni and Jean-François Champollion:[1] for example, during his excavations at Luxor around 1818 and later, Belzoni reported to have been harassed by two of Drovetti's agents, Antonio Lebolo and a certain Rosignani;[2] Drovetti also tried several times to hinder Champollion's expedition in Egypt (1827–28), likely to prevent a competitor in his affairs.[3] Drovetti and his agents were also deemed careless and unscrupulous in their conduct towards their discoveries, and it is believed that the fragmentary state of the Turin Royal Canon is at least partially due to this behaviour.[1]
In popular culture
[edit]Drovetti was portrayed by Joseph Long in the 2005 BBC docudrama Egypt.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]Further reading
[edit]
- Ridly, Ronald T. (1998). Napoleon's Proconsul In Egypt: The Life and Times of Bernardino Drovetti. Rubicon Press. ISBN 0-948695-59-5.
