Richard Lepsius, a biography

by Georg Ebers

The Berlin collection of Egyptian antiquities consisted of the collections of v. Minutoli, Passalacqua, v. Koller and Bartholdy. Prior to its removal to the new museum it had been lodged in the palace of Monbijou, and while there had received many additions, especially by the purchase of the third collection of Drovetti. This man, who had been French consul-general at Alexandria under Napoleon I., had some time before collected the rich stores which now form the Egyptian museum at Turin. (See pages 93 and 132.) He had already sold another smaller collection, (See page 97), to King William IV., upon the solicitation of Lepsius and in consequence of his intervention. Bunsen only concluded the purchase in 1837, as the authorized agent of that prince. In 1839, there was added to the Berlin collection that of the state-counsellor Saulnier at Paris, and in 1843, that of d’Athanasi at London. From the pamphlet published in 1880, entitled “History of the Royal Museum at Berlin,”[71] and from the portion of the same dedicated to Dr. S. Stern of the Egyptian department, we learn that there were already five thousand numbers in that department in the year 1849, that is, previous to the incorporation of the treasures which Lepsius sent home from Egypt.

The expedition whose travels and labors we have recorded had sent home not less than fifteen thousand Egyptian antiquities and plaster casts. Especially valuable among these were the three tombs already mentioned from the necropolis of ancient Memphis on the plain of the pyramids at el-Gizeh, as well as many sculptures and inscriptions from other tombs of the Old Kingdom. The colored portraits of Amenophis I. and his celebrated mother Nefertari, long worshipped as divine, are also of great importance. These the expedition took, together with the fragment upon which they were painted, from a tomb. They also took a pillar from the tomb of Seti I. Both of these monuments came from Thebes. With them and with a column taken from the temple of Philae was connected the reproach brought against the expedition of having destroyed venerable monuments to further their own special purposes. Against this accusation we have hitherto defended the expedition in perfectly good faith, but unfortunately, as far as the pillar from the splendid tomb of Seti was concerned, there was some foundation for the charge. Of the other acquisitions of Lepsius we will also name an obelisk and many columns from tombs, a portrait in relief of Thothmes III., a colossal bust of King Horus, the naophore statue of Prince Setau-an, an altar from Ben-Naga, and, in addition, the ram sphinx from Mount Boreal mentioned on page 156. Together with these were numerous monuments from Meroë, many of which were covered with those Ethiopian-demotic inscriptions, the key to which is still wanting. He also sent home several beautiful sarcophagi of stone and wood, the tablet of Moschion, with a Greek-demotic inscription, many bricks with the stamp of the Pharaohs of the eighteenth and nineteenth dynasties, and finally, in addition to numerous lesser relics, valuable papyri.

The casts taken by the expedition while on the Nile were intended to complete the collection of casts begun by the advice of Lepsius. Large and fortunate additions were afterwards made to this collection, and its founder always, and with justice, attributed great importance to it. By means of these casts it was possible to supply in an available and desirable manner the inevitable deficiencies with respect to an historical sequence of the original monuments. Other museums imitated that of Berlin in instituting collections of casts. The finishing and painting of the halls which had been renovated for the Egyptian collection were begun and completed under the superintendence of Lepsius, who had entire liberty in the matter. In every respect it was done to correspond with those ideas and wishes which he had already expressed in Cairo. All the demands of the Egyptian style were observed in the three halls at his disposal, and the walls, pillars and ceilings received that decorative and highly-colored pictorial ornament with which the temples and tombs of the time of the Pharaohs are adorned. The most interesting pictures from the tombs and sanctuaries on the Nile were reproduced here, and Ernest Weidenbach, upon whom devolved the execution of the multitude of paintings selected and arranged by Lepsius, performed the task with that delicate feeling for the characteristics of Egyptian style which was peculiar to himself. They had at their disposal the rooms situated in the northern half of the ground floor of the new museum. The entrance leads immediately into the anteroom, where a column from Philae with a palm capital is stationed. If one turns thence towards the hall adjoining on the right, one has before him a series of rooms which can in some measure represent the chief divisions of an Egyptian temple; vestibule, hypostyle and sanctuary. In an Egyptian temple the court was usually surrounded by colonnades, whose architraves contained the dedication of the building. In the midst stood an altar. Behind these sacred halls there were smaller rooms, the last of which, in the axis of the building, was the sanctuary containing the statue of the god of the temple. In a general way the rooms of the Berlin Egyptian collection correspond to this customary arrangement. They contain the court, covered with glass and surrounded by columns, the hypostyle adjoining, and the cella in the background. At the side of this central temple lie three main rooms; to the right are the mythological hall and the hall of tombs, while the historical hall extends along the whole length of the left side.

Let us turn first to those rooms situated on the right and towards the east; these are the mythological hall and the hall of tombs. In the former are arranged the sarcophagi and coffins, and the spectator is there impressed by that serious mood so easily awakened in our souls by objects which remind us solely of death. There he finds himself in the company of the gods, and every picture on the walls relates to them, and is connected with the mythological tenets of the most religious of all peoples. The divine constellations of the Egyptian heavens look down upon the visitor from the ceiling, as in the great passages of the rock tombs and the consecrated halls of the temples. Every picture has its astronomical and mythological significance. In the rear portion of this space, which is partitioned off, is the hall of tombs, and here are the tomb chambers from Memphis, and the other monuments of the Old Kingdom.

The middle hall is divided into the portico, the hypostylic hall, and the sanctuary of an Egyptian temple. The portico, which lies to the south, and which in Egypt is covered only by the bright blue arch of heaven, is intended to arouse in the spectator the sensation of being still in the open air. Therefore the beautiful landscapes with which modern artists have adorned the walls, and which remind us of the most remarkable localities and the sites of the most venerable monuments of Egypt, are extremely appropriate here, where are also grouped the colossal statues and sepulchral stele. In the hypostylic portion of this hall the paintings transport us among the subjects of the Pharaohs, and numerous illustrations of the private life of the old Egyptians make us familiar with the high and peculiar culture which took root and blossomed in the valley of the Nile much earlier than in any other spot on earth. Carefully-selected papyri are hung on the walls of this room. In the sanctuary, which lies altogether to the north, stands the statue of King Horus.

The third or historic hall, (to the left or west,) is adorned with pictures connected with the history of the kingdom of the Pharaohs, and also with representations of battles by land and water. The long series of ovals inscribed with the names of the old royal rulers of the Nile valley in hieroglyphics, form a suitable decoration, and attract the eye of all who are desirous of knowledge. Those monuments which are distinguished for their historical importance are arranged here in order according to the time of their origin. The plaster casts are in a special room beside the vestibule, and are beginning more and more to overflow it.

If the Egyptian museum in Berlin has long been among the most famous in the world, on account of the wealth of treasures there preserved, it has also gained a value peculiar to itself from the historical ideas introduced and carried out by Lepsius. There we see exhibited the artistic epochs of Egyptian history arranged in groups according to their chronological succession. Yet at the same time the effort to keep together objects which are mutually connected, such as sarcophagi and coffins, has been successful. Also, where it was necessary to form distinct divisions, the historical method has been applied within the limits of each separate group.

There can be but one opinion as to the propriety and the scientific advantages of Lepsius’ historical method of classification; but the decoration of the rooms in the Berlin museum by no means meets with such universal approbation. It is indeed conceded that it is in the best possible taste, and is both beautiful and attractive, but it is maintained by many people that the pictorial representation on the walls, that is, the accessories, draw the attention of the visitor too strongly and distract him from the contemplation of the monuments, which are certainly the real objects of importance.

There is some reason for this objection; but yet these pictures serve the immediate purpose of bringing visitors to the collection and it is this very decoration of the Berlin-Egyptian museum which renders it peculiarly attractive.

Whoever goes there with any knowledge of the monuments will pay attention to them, and not to the decorations of the hall. But the layman will there become interested in the culture and artistic ability of the old Egyptians, as he would not do in a museum where the monuments stand in bare halls, and have to speak entirely for themselves. The pictures attract him, and at the same time introduce him to Egyptian antiquity. They make him familiar, in a trustworthy manner, with the Egyptian civilization from whose soil have sprung the works of art there assembled. They teach him to understand the connection between these and the organic whole of which they are the separate parts, and, in many cases, the most beautiful blossoms. In one place there are pictorial representations, and in another monuments, to direct and instruct the visitor so that he may comprehend every stage of the development of this great whole. Whoever enters these rooms with a mind open and alert will soon perceive the relation between the decorative pictures and the monuments, and will easily succeed in connecting them with the departments of Egyptian life and activity to which they belong. He will transport the coffin, upon which he can lay his hands, into the funeral procession shown him in the painting; when he gazes up at a colossus he will place it mentally in that spot at the temple gate where it really belongs, according to the picture on the wall. Indeed, the decorative paintings will show him the Egyptian artist at his work, and the prince whose monument stands before him upon his war chariot in the tumult of battle. They will make him familiar with the gods who are mentioned in the hieroglyphic texts of coffins, stele and papyri. Thus these paintings possess great value for instructive and illustrative purposes, apart from the attraction which they present to the eye, and the appearance, as peculiar as it is pleasing, which they lend to the halls of the museum. Therefore we would not willingly be without them. He, who permits himself to be distracted from the monuments by them, will yet not have visited the museum in vain, but will have learned something authentic and interesting concerning Egyptian antiquity.