of the study of object worlds, while her tone and treatment are
introductory. Meskell returns primarily to the artifactually
rich
(and thus ideal for a study of artifacts) workman's village of
Deir el Medina when she does focus on ancient Egypt, a feature
shared with Archaeologies of Social Life.
After a short introduction discussing materiality, Meskell jumps
into her first chapter, entitled "Objects in the Mirror May
Appear
Closer Than They Are." In this chapter, Meskell probes the
reasons
why artifacts have been considered, first and foremost,
material
culture, used to give historians insight into the ancient
culture, and
viewed as objects of actual use only secondarily. She suggests
that when considering the sociality of the objects themselves,
previously unstudied networks unfold and elucidate both the objects
and the society. Meskell begins with an overview of the study of
materiality, acknowledging her major sources (in particular
Giambattista Vico, Karl Marx, Marcel Mauss, and Jean Baudrillard)
and illustrating the ideas of their work with examples from
Egyptian history. In
chapter 2, "Taxonomy, Agency, and Biography," Meskell traces the
historical tradition of the classification of objects, wending her
way through Michel Foucault, Thomas Huxley, and fetishism. The
study of classification is essential to the understanding of
the
Egyptians' relationships with their goods; do the
classification
systems that modern historians and archaeologists impose
upon
the ancient goods adequately represent the goods? Meskell
raises
questions, but leaves them largely unanswered.
Chapter 3, "Material Memories: Objects as Ancestors," treats the
object category of ancestor busts, found primarily at Deir el
Medina. Chapter 4, "Statue Worlds and Divine Things," is a
lengthy look at the place of statuary within Egyptian religion.
Meskell shifts gears slightly in the next chapter, "On Hearing,
Phenomenology, and Desire," and introduces Egyptian hearing ear
stelae, which she personalizes and uses to begin a discussion on
traditional Mexican milagro ex votos. Chapter 6, "Sketching
Lifeworlds, Performing Resistance," examines satire and irony as
manifested in Egyptian material culture. Meskell does not shy from
graphic and satirical depictions of sexual intercourse and instead
introduces an interesting discussion of Egyptian attitudes toward
sexuality. Because the subject of sexuality in ancient Egypt is
rarely eontextualized (although this is rapidly changing; the
field of Egyptology has traditionally had a conservative bent
that tended toward censure of graphic sexuality), MeskelFs
arguments are particularly effective.
In the final chapter, "Object Lessons from Modernity," Meskell
examines ancient objects through the lens of modernity. She
discusses the notion of collecting at length, discussing both
private and institutional collectors, and highlights the appeal
that
Egyptian goods still have in popular culture. For instance, high
attendance at museum exhibitions or the popularity of the Luxor
Casino in Las Vegas suggest widespread public interest. Much of
this chapter is a first^person account of the Luxor Casino,
including the author's impressions and interviews with a masseuse
and several salespeople.
Egyptology is a notoriously insular field and Meskell does her
^^^H anthropological background justice by introducing
cross-cultural ^^^H references. However, she never fully seems to
engage the heart of
^^^H her material, which is ostensibly ancient Egypt. Instead,
her work
^^^H has a feeling of skirting the issues she raises and using
the cross-
^^^H cultural references in lieu of in-depth analysis. ^^^H
In her attempts to make her book accessible to a wider audience,
^^^H
including both Egyptologists and theoreticians, Meskell seems to
^^^H
dilute her content and make her book more accessible but less
^^^H
worthwhile. Although she has an amazing command of language,
^^^H
her writing can tend toward obfuscation. At other times her
^^^H
points are extreme; for instance, in suggesting on page 15 that
her ^^^H
study will help in "repositioning archaeology as a discipline
with ^^^H
something tangible to contribute." Whether Meskell accomplishes
^^^H her goal and makes archaeology more meaningful or whether
you
^^^H feel that the discipline of archaeology is already
valuable, Object
^^^H Worlds in Ancient Egypt is an interesting read that offers
its readers
^^^H much to think about. Meskell's scholarship is well rounded,
she is ^^^H incredibly well versed in theory, and she has an
amazing knowledge ^^^H of world culture. Her attempts to apply
these to Egyptology are a
^^^H firm beginning for the furthering of the field.
^^^H
X Musacchio ^^^|
University of Pennsylvania ^^^M
Whose Pharaohs? ^H
Archaeology, Museums and ^H Egyptian National Identity
^H from Napoleon to World War I ^H B;y Donald Malcolm Reid.
Berkeley and Los Angeles: ^^^H University of California Press,
2002. Pp. xv + 409. Cloth
^^H $45, Paper $19.95, ISBN 0-520-24069-3.
^H
Within the history of Egyptian W??? ; jj^-f ^^^H
archaeology, certain names loom ^^^H8?^Hh?? ^^^H large.
Champollion, Young, Mariette, ^^^H?^B^H? ^^^H
Maspero, Lepsius, P?trie, and Wilkinson ^^^^H^^^H ^^^| all
figure prominently within disciplinary ^^^^^^^^^H ^^^H histories.
So too do these characters
^^^^^^^^^H ^^^H feature in Donald Reid's Whose ^^^^^^^^^H
^^^H
Pharaohs?, a text that revisits the origins ^^^^^^^^^B ^^^|
of Egyptian archaeology with a candor 9HHHHH ^^^H that is as
surprising as it is refreshing.
^^^H Reid's book is a history that introduces us to other
individuals
^^^H too, a history that examines the uses that European
imperialists
^^^H and, crucially, Egyptian nationalists made of the country's
past
^^^H throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries.
^^^H
NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 69:3-4 (2006) 189
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I It is hardly revolutionary to suggest that archaeology,
imperialism, and national identity are inextricably
entwined.
Indeed, any reader interested in the historical development
of
Egyptian or Near Eastern archaeology will be familiar with
the
nineteenth-century scramble for antiquities, the treasure
hunts
in the heat of the desert that filled the museums of Europe and
North America with symbols of Empire. Egyptian scholars,
in contrast, have traditionally been omitted from accounts
of
the development of Egyptian archaeology?we look in vain in
our history books for an Egyptian counterpart to Maspero or
Mariette. It is true that Lepsius and his colleagues were
great
pioneers, individuals who deserve to be celebrated for their
contribution to the study of ancient Egypt. That they did so in
an age during which modern nation-states came into existence
is significant. What is equally significant is that, in an era
of
European colonialism and domination, a number of Egyptians were
beginning to recognize the potentials inherent in
their past too.
There are as yet very few revisionist histories of Egyptian
archaeology, that is, histories that seek to go beyond the
traditional accounts of lionized, Western individuals. The
theorists who have caused such upheavals in the histories
of other disciplines?Foucault, Said, Gramsci?have
barely caused a ripple within traditional Egyptology. Whose
Pharaohs? is different. In it, we are invited to explore the
development of Egyptian archaeology through the growth of four
key institutions, namely, the Egyptian Museum, the
Museum of Arab Art, the Greco-Roman Museum, and the
Coptic Museum. Reid examines the role of the ancient past in
constructing an identity for Egypt (an Egypt for the Egyptians),
while writing modern Egyptians into the histories of these national
institutions. Europeans and Egyptians are juxtaposed, challenging
traditional narratives: al-Jabarti, al-Tahtawi, and
Muhammad Ali take their place in a pantheon that previously had
room only for Champollion, Lane, Denon, and Wilkinson.
It is perhaps worth noting, however, that this book is not a
history of Egyptology in the traditional sense. As Reid
himself
highlights, the very term "Egyptology," with its focus upon
the ancient dynasties, privileges the Pharaonic era of
Egypt's
past, an implicit slight to both modern Egypt and Egyptians
themselves. Rather, Whose Pharaohs? is about the developing
interest in, and uses of, the Egyptian past in all its varied
guises.
So, for example, we are introduced to al-Falaki, an Egyptian
scholar who labored for several years on a map of ancient
Alexandria. The map was eventually published in 1871; it forms
the basis of our understanding of the ancient city today.
We also meet Marcus Simaika, pioneer of Coptic archaeology, and
AH Bahgat, "the father of Islamic archaeology" who directed
excavations at al-Fustat, the original Arab-Islamic
capital, early in the twentieth century. Yet, it is in his
discussion of the Pharaonic past that Reid's talents as a historian
come
to the fore, effortlessly interweaving the works of East and
West, exploring popular perceptions of the past both from
within Egypt and among the huge numbers who flocked to the
country from the 1840s onward.
There are, however, several names missing from Reid's
account. He is concerned only with events that occurred
within Egypt; there is no place for those who preferred the more
measured confines of the European museum. Nor will
you find any detailed discussion of Tutankhamen, the
ultimate
symbol of Egyptian national identity for many in the West, whose
tomb was uncovered in the same year that Egypt was
granted independence of a sort from the British Empire.
Rather,
the book focuses upon what Reid terms his "long nineteenth
century," the period in which the Napoleonic expeditions
opened Egypt up for Western scholars, through to the start
of the First World War. And it is a fitting time period: an era
in which archaeology and Egyptology defined themselves as
disciplines, in which the world leapt from understanding little
or nothing of Pharaoh to reading his language, and in which the
modern nation-state was born.
It would be easy for a book of this nature simply to rewrite
history. Yet, Reid avoids the temptation to resort to
polemics?this is not simply an Arab-centric vision to replace a
Euro-centric one, nor are Egyptians presented as helpless victims
of European domination. There is no West versus
East, no imperialism versus nationalism here. Instead, we
are
presented with a complex web of juxtapositions and intrigues,
sympathetically examined and brilliantly highlighted by the
lucidity of Reid's prose and his meticulous attention to the
finest
of details. We are invited to challenge long-held assumptions;
that Reid is able to do so in a manner that is accessible yet
scholarly, beautifully written, and compelling is an exceptional
achievement. This is a history of Egyptian archaeology that can
be read in the bath. Understanding the history of our discipline
encourages us
to question its purpose, to recognize the social context
from
which it emerged and from which we draw many of our most
deeply held beliefs. Whose Pharaohs? challenges us to recognize
the importance of archaeological symbolism beyond the narrow
world of archaeology, to consider the impact that the quest
for
the archaeological past has had on the various interests
that
met in the melting pot of Egypt in the nineteenth century. It is
part of a tradition of self-reflection and critical evaluation that
has swept through archaeology, history, and anthropology but has
yet truly to impact the world of Egyptian archaeology and
Egyptology. Donald Reid's remarkable book begins this
process of r??valuation, both sensitively and sympathetically.
It is compelling reading for anyone who has ever looked in awe at
the wonder of the land of the pharaohs. With the help of scholars
like Reid, we might just begin to work out whose pharaohs they
really are.
Darren Glazier
University of Southampton , UK
190 NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY 69:3-4 (2006)
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Article Contentsp. 189p. 190
Issue Table of ContentsNear Eastern Archaeology, Vol. 69, No.
3/4 (Sep. - Dec., 2006), pp. 113-192Front MatterFrom the
EditorForum: The Talpiot "Jesus" Family TombThe Jesus Tomb
Controversy: An Overview [pp. 116-118]Is the Talpiot Tomb Really
the Family Tomb of Jesus? [pp. 118-124]Trial by Statistics [pp.
124-125]Inscribed Ossuaries: Personal Names, Statistics, and
Laboratory Tests [pp. 125-129]Mary Magdalene Has Left the Room: A
Suggested New Reading of Ossuary CJO 701 [pp. 130-131]Testing a
Hypothesis [pp. 132-137]
The Ottoman Qasr at Hisban: Architecture, Reform, and New Social
Relations [pp. 138-145]Cult Stands of the Philistines A Genizah
from Yavneh [pp. 146-159]The Lower Paleolithic Occupation of Iran
[pp. 160-168]Working Bones: A Unique Iron Age IIA Bone Workshop
from Tell e-fi/Gath [pp. 169-173]Arti-FactsHeroes, Mummies, and
Treasure: Near Eastern Archaeology in the Movies [pp. 174-185]The
Reopened Museum of the Ancient Orient in Istanbul [pp. 186-187]
ReviewsReview: untitled [p. 188-188]Review: untitled [pp.
188-189]Review: untitled [pp. 189-190]Review: untitled [pp.
191-192]
Back Matter
