Jewels of the Nile celebrates the very first time that the Worcester Art Museum’s internationally important collection of Egyptian jewelry – which has undergone conservation and cleaning – has been shown together. This strikingly illustrated book introduces the reader to the collection of an early 20th century Boston couple with a passion for ancient Egypt. The collectors, Laura and Kingsmill Marrs, were guided in their acquisitions by Howard Carter, the archaeologist who would later achieve world-wide recognition for his discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun (1922). Under his guidance, the Marrs’s purchased an outstanding selection of scarabs, amulets, jewellery and cosmetic-related articles, including rare blue-toned stone vessels. They also acquired a group of Carter’s watercolor renditions of important Egyptian sites and royal figures. These artifacts, as well as objects from Worcester’s stellar collection of Egyptian antiquities, are included in the publication.
Foreword
10 Chronological Table of Ancient Egypt
12 Maps of Egypt, Nubia, and Thebes
15 A Brief History of Ancient Egypt by Peter Lacovara
31 Laura Norcross Marrs: Traveler, Collector, and Philanthropist by Peter Lacovara
51 Jewels of the Nile by Yvonne J. Markowitz
85 Conservation, Technique, and Research by Paula Artal-Isbrand
Catalogue
105 Amulets by Yvonne J. Markowitz
119 The Sacred Beetle by Yvonne J. Markowitz
127 Ancient Egyptian Jewelry by Yvonne J. Markowitz
161 Cosmetics by Peter Lacovara
175 Funerary Art by Peter Lacovara
188 Analysis of Egyptian Plaquette Mounted as a Brooch by Erin R. Mysak and Richard Newman
196 Bibliography
200 Additional Object Information
212 Index
216 Photo Credits