Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities

IN SEARCH OF ANCIENT EGYPT IN CANADA

Introduction

The public has had an ongoing fascination with ancient Egypt since it was rediscovered by the west just over 200 years ago. With Egyptian artefacts no longer allowed to leave their country of origin, whatever material now exists in Canadian museums is all that there ever will be.

This project seeks to identify and describe Egyptian artefacts in museums across Canada, in order to publicize the museums and to publish the artefacts, something that many smaller – and even some larger – institutions do not always have the resources to do. This will make the collections more accessible to both researchers and the general public. At the same time, the project will broaden interest and awareness in this most ancient of cultures by describing the connection of the existing collections with the individual Canadians involved in their creation, and the impact ancient Egypt continues to have on monuments and creative arts in all regions of Canada. The outcomes of this project will be products:

1. a database, that will expand as other museums/locations are identified;

2. a CD-ROM that contains photos of major artefacts from each museum or gallery;

3. a book that will include the CD-ROM in a pocket.

The book will open with a chapter on a number of the early collectors of Egyptian material in Canada to whom we owe the core of our present collections.

It will follow with a section containing information on Egyptian collections from coast to coast in Canada.

Information for each museum or institution will include:

- facts about the Museum/site and its origins,

- facts about how it acquired its artefacts,

- information on the artefacts themselves, with colour photographs of featured items,

- a CD-ROM to show a larger selection of artefacts from the various institutions described,

for those who desire more detail.

- entries that vary in length with the size of the collection; some collections are very small,

others much larger.

The final chapter will document the impact that ancient Egypt has had on architecture and design in Canada by including prominent examples of Egyptian influence both in architecture and funerary monuments.

A searchable on-line database will be developed, to allow for the easy incorporation/updating of the material to include museums or sites missed.

Project Organization

The project will be led from a project office in Toronto, location to be determined. The information will flow into the project lead at this office. Project files have been established and are jointly accessible for updates through Savefile, at the Montréal Chapter’s account.

The Project Lead will be responsible to the Board of Trustees of the SSEA, reporting through the President of the Montréal Chapter, Dr. Brigitte Ouellet, who is a member of the Board. Members of the SSEA contributing pictures and data will do so to the Project office.

Approval of Project expenses will be through the Sponsoring Agencies, staff submitting claims according to established procedures within those agencies. Expenses will be cleared by the Project Lead, and approved by the Montréal President before submission for payment.

The country will be split into three regions for data collection purposes:

Montréal will encompass Québec and the Maritime Provinces

Toronto will cover central Canada (Ontario and Manitoba)

Calgary will cover Saskatchewan, Alberta and BC.

TEMPLATES FOR ENTRIES

A. MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES

Name of the Museum

Address

Telephone, E-mail, and Website if applicable

Person in charge (curator, director, other. Included only for database purposes)

History of the Museum

date established

relevant information such as founders, milestones in development, focus of the collection, size overall

Exterior picture of the museum

History of the Egyptian collection or items

date established

size

range of items (by type, period, etc.)

if applicable, picture of the gallery

“Featured” items that the museum wishes to display

brief description, including size

pictures

B. SITES

Name of the Site

Address/location

Telephone, E-mail, or Website if applicable

History of the Site

date constructed/created

relevant information such as architect and/or designer and/or artist

commentary on circumstances surrounding its creation, the creator him/herself, significance of the structure or site

picture of the Site

Note on whether it still exists, accessibility, etc. as appropriate

CRITERIA FOR INCLUSION AS A SITE

Funerary

Significant size (over 6 Metres for an Obelisk)

Significantly different (e.g.”block statue” at Wotton cemetery)

Of historic significance (e.g. grave of Sir John A. MacDonald, connection

to a famous event)

Architectural

Contains recognised and recognisable Egyptian motifs or design Elements

(e.g. obelisk, pyramid, battered walls, pylons, columns, winged disk or other)

Art

A major work in an accessible place, by a recognised artist

To download the templates,click HERE

Who Is Involved

Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities (SSEA)/Société pour l’Étude de l’Égypte ancienne (SEEA): A not-for-profit organization formally incorporated in 1970. With chapters in three Canadian cities (Toronto, Montréal and Calgary) and an American subsidiary, the Toronto-based SSEA/SEEA was founded to stimulate interest in Egyptology, to assist those interested, professional and non-professional alike, with research and training in the field, and to sponsor and promote archaeological expeditions to Egypt. The Montréal Chapter in particular is already devoting time to the project.

Dr. Brigitte Ouellet. President of the Montréal Chapter of the SSEA/SEEA, obtained a DEC in art from the Collège Marie-Victorin, a Master of Ancient Near-East History degree and a Ph.D. in the History of Religions with a speciality in Egyptology at the University of Montréal. Her passionate interest concerning ancient Egypt directed her studies toward the translation of the texts of the wisdom of Middle Kingdom Egypt. Responsible for courses at the University of Montréal, McGill University and Concordia University, she contributes regularly to specialized periodicals in her field and is a member of numerous Egyptology associations. Driven by her studies, she has attained proficiency in Egyptian language at St. Mary’s University (Halifax) and will soon undertake her nineteenth tour of Egypt.

Mark Trumpour: A recently-retired public servant, Mark was formerly employed by the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services as a Senior Policy Analyst, leading research and evaluation projects within the Ministry and preparing policy documents. He has an Honours BA with a minor in History, and a Master of Public Administration degree. Mark has been interested in the ancient world, particularly ancient Egypt, since his early teens. He is a member of the Royal Ontario Museum, where he volunteers as a trained Gallery Interpreter, explaining items in the Egyptian collection to museum visitors. He is a member of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities (SSEA) in Toronto, and has both presented and been published on ancient Egypt. He has co-authored an academic article soon to be published in the JSSEA.

Denis Goulet: Before retirement, Denis was Regional Manager (Eastern Canada) for the robotics and industrial automation division of the international Siemens Company based in Germany. Denis has had an interest in ancient Egypt for the last forty years; his focus has revolved around all things concerning “Egyptomania”. Since his retirement in 1999, he has been able to concentrate fully on his interest in all things concerning Ancient Egypt. He has given numerous lectures both to the SSEA in Montréal and at the University of Sherbrooke, where he is also responsible for courses on Egypt's history and civilisation.

Steven Larkman: Steven is president of the Calgary Chapter of the SSEA. He has degrees in archaeology and anthropology from the University of Calgary, an M.A. in Egyptology from the University of Liverpool and is working towards his PhD. He is a session instructor in archaeology at Mount Royal

College and regularly attends and presents to conferences in North America and the UK.

Progress to Date

To date, 35 museums and over 30 buildings, funerary monuments and artworks have been identified for inclusion (the number grows steadily), and initial material has been gathered for most. Our sources of information are a combination of publications, electronic media and person to person communication. Guidance from publications such as Significant Treasures and the on-line Virtual Museum has been helpful in identifying sites, and now personal contribution as SSEA members get increasingly involved. The resources at the Canadian Centre for Architecture have provided supplementary information on buildings not available from other sources.

An interesting "Did you know": the gravesite of our first Prime Minister, Sir John A. MacDonald, is marked by an obelisk. What has been found is that much of the material is in small pockets here and there, often "there" where one would least expect to find it. An example is the coffin, mummy and stone Ptolemaic lions that are in the Galerie de l'UQAM, a modern art museum in Montréal. The museums themselves often have little expertise in ancient Egypt and few resources at hand to deal properly with these items. It is suspected that more material lurks in places not yet identified.

In the course of collecting material, direct contact has been established with personnel in a number of the institutions. Formal letters of support have been received from the Egyptian Consulate in Montreal, the Canadian Museums Association, and the Canadian Federation of Friends of Museums. The Egyptian Consulate is extremely supportive, and may be able to offer assistance with publication, still to be confirmed.

Dr. Brigitte Ouellet, president of the Montréal Chapter of the SSEA/SEEA, is actively pursuing partnership possibilities in Montréal, and has involved Montréal member Denis Goulet, who is devoting time and energy to the project. Steve Larkman, president of the Calgary chapter, is heading up efforts in Alberta."

Next Steps

1. Complete the inventory of museums, artefacts and sites. It is hoped that the CFFM and the CMA may be helpful in facilitating this step by providing member lists.

2. Engage members of the SSEA/SEEA in a common project to provide additional information on sites and locations.

3. Identify project costs and funding sources. Work to date has identified photography as a significant cost factor, since many of the institutions do not have at hand publication-quality images of the items in their collections.

4. Explore potential partnerships and sponsors, e.g. with Cultnat, which may have an interest in supporting efforts to web-enable the material collected.

5. Explore potential publishers. A number have already been identified.

How it is Unique?

The Canadian Federation of Friends of Museums (CFFM), with support of the Canadian Museum Association (CMA), published a volume entitled Significant Treasures (1997). It presented noteworthy items from the collections of museums across Canada. Each museum received one page of description and one page with the photo of a selected item. While a useful volume that introduced the public to many museums across the country, it might be described as “a mile wide and an inch deep”. The approach described here would narrow the scope, delving deeper into those collections with Egyptian materials, affording them greater rein to include items they are particularly proud of and wish to showcase. Of the 30 museums identified to date as having Egyptian artefacts, over half were not represented in Significant Treasures, so this project will give them exposure that they have not previously had. The process for preparing the book will be an exciting exercize in cooperation.

Led by the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities (SSEA)/Société pour l’Étude de l’Égypte ancienne (SEEA), a not-for-profit organization, it will feature:

- a significant volunteer component, provided by SSEA members in Toronto, Montréal and Calgary;

- text in both French and English;

- organizational sponsorship by a major institution in Toronto and one in Québec, and

- active participation from the Egyptian government through its consulate in Montréal.