From Siena to Nubia, Alessandro Ricci in Egypt and Sudan, 1017-22
65,00 $
ISBN: 978-977-416-854-3
Description: hardback, dustjacket, 456 pp. (29x21 cm), figs.
Condition: new
Weight: 2410g.
From Siena to Nubia, Alessandro Ricci in Egypt and Sudan, 1017-22, translated and edited by Daniele Salvoldi, AUC, Cairo 2018
A medical practitioner and talented draftsman, Alessandro Ricci was born in Siena, Italy, at the end of the eighteenth century. He traveled extensively throughout Egypt and Sudan between 1817 and 1822. During his stay, he worked as an epigraphist for Giovanni B. Belzoni in the tomb of Seti I and later entered into the service of British consul general Henry Salt and English explorer William John Bankes, on whose behalf he visited and documented Siwa (1820), Sinai (1820), and Nubia (1818–19 and 1821–22). Ricci also became the physician to Ibrahim Pasha and achieved fame for daringly saving his life during the military campaign that led to Egypt’s conquest of Sudan in 1821–22. Upon his return to Italy, Ricci wrote a long account of all his journeys and reworked a series of ninety plates into striking form, yet failed to publish either.
In 2009, Daniele Salvoldi identified a complete typewritten copy of Ricci’s Travels in the National Archives of Egypt in Cairo. Drawings intended to accompany the text as plates were tracked down in different locations in Italy and the United Kingdom. From Siena to Nubia is the English-translated critical edition, with notes and introductory chapters, of Ricci’s travel account, which provides detailed information about the countries he visited, including descriptions of ancient ruins and social customs, botanical and geological remarks, and historical and ethnographical observations. It adds to the recent, growing corpus of exploration literature on nineteenth-century Egypt as well as bringing to light obscure sources important to the early history of Egyptology.
Acknowledgments
Sources of Plates
Maps
Alessandro Ricci and His Travels
1. Tuscany, Egypt, Ricci, and the First Steps of Egyptology
The Grand Duchy of Tuscany and Egypt
The Napoleonic Campaign and the Rise of Muhammad Ali Pasha
The War of the Consuls and the Beginning of Egyptology
2. Alessandro Ricci: Early Life, Personality, and Cultural Background
Early Life
Personality
Cultural Background
3. Travels in Egypt and Sennar (1817–22)
Organization and Funding
Tools
Arrival in Egypt: 1815, 1817, or 1818?
Alexandria to Cairo (February–March 1817)
Travel to Upper Egypt, Epigraphic Copy of the Tomb of Seti I, and Expedition to Berenike (February–September 1818)
Travel to Nubia (November 1818–May 1819)
Work for William John Bankes (May 1819–February 1820)
Travel to Siwa (March–April 1820)
Travel to Sinai (September–November 1820)
Second Voyage to Upper Egypt with Baron von Minutoli (December 1820–February 1821)
Travel to Sennar (June 1821–February 1822)
Last Works in Egypt
4. With Champollion and Rosellini between Europe and Egypt
Work on the Manuscript, Research for a Publisher, and Acquaintance with Champollion
The Franco-Tuscan Expedition to Egypt (1828–29)
Sales Promotion of Rosellini's Book in Europe (1831)
Sickness, Death, and Inheritance (1832–34)
5. The Archaeological, Anthropological, and Natural History Collections
The Dresden Collection (1831)
The Florence Collection (1832)
Natural History and Anthropology Collections
6. The Travels: Topics and Problems
Story of an Account Lost and Found Several Times
The Plates: Sources and Descriptions
7. Identifying the Drawings for the Intended Plates
The Importance of Ricci's Drawings
Published Plates and Dispersion of the Originals
8. List of Plates
Travel in Nubia
Travel to the Temple of Jupiter-Amun
Travel to Mount Sinai
Travel to Sennar
Notes to Sources of Plate and Chapters 1–8
The Manuscript of the Travels
9. Note on the Original Manuscript, the Typewritten Copy, and the Present Edition
10. Travels of Doctor Alessandro Ricci of Siena: Made in the Years 1818, 1819, 1820, 1821, 1822 in Nubia, to the Temple of Jupiter-Amun, Mount Sinai, and Sennar
Travel to Nubia
Travel to the Temple of Jupiter-Amun
Travel to Mount Sinai
Travel to Sennar
Notes
Plates
Bibliography
Index
Description: hardback, dustjacket, 456 pp. (29x21 cm), figs.
Condition: new
Weight: 2410g.
From Siena to Nubia, Alessandro Ricci in Egypt and Sudan, 1017-22, translated and edited by Daniele Salvoldi, AUC, Cairo 2018
A medical practitioner and talented draftsman, Alessandro Ricci was born in Siena, Italy, at the end of the eighteenth century. He traveled extensively throughout Egypt and Sudan between 1817 and 1822. During his stay, he worked as an epigraphist for Giovanni B. Belzoni in the tomb of Seti I and later entered into the service of British consul general Henry Salt and English explorer William John Bankes, on whose behalf he visited and documented Siwa (1820), Sinai (1820), and Nubia (1818–19 and 1821–22). Ricci also became the physician to Ibrahim Pasha and achieved fame for daringly saving his life during the military campaign that led to Egypt’s conquest of Sudan in 1821–22. Upon his return to Italy, Ricci wrote a long account of all his journeys and reworked a series of ninety plates into striking form, yet failed to publish either.
In 2009, Daniele Salvoldi identified a complete typewritten copy of Ricci’s Travels in the National Archives of Egypt in Cairo. Drawings intended to accompany the text as plates were tracked down in different locations in Italy and the United Kingdom. From Siena to Nubia is the English-translated critical edition, with notes and introductory chapters, of Ricci’s travel account, which provides detailed information about the countries he visited, including descriptions of ancient ruins and social customs, botanical and geological remarks, and historical and ethnographical observations. It adds to the recent, growing corpus of exploration literature on nineteenth-century Egypt as well as bringing to light obscure sources important to the early history of Egyptology.
Acknowledgments
Sources of Plates
Maps
Alessandro Ricci and His Travels
1. Tuscany, Egypt, Ricci, and the First Steps of Egyptology
The Grand Duchy of Tuscany and Egypt
The Napoleonic Campaign and the Rise of Muhammad Ali Pasha
The War of the Consuls and the Beginning of Egyptology
2. Alessandro Ricci: Early Life, Personality, and Cultural Background
Early Life
Personality
Cultural Background
3. Travels in Egypt and Sennar (1817–22)
Organization and Funding
Tools
Arrival in Egypt: 1815, 1817, or 1818?
Alexandria to Cairo (February–March 1817)
Travel to Upper Egypt, Epigraphic Copy of the Tomb of Seti I, and Expedition to Berenike (February–September 1818)
Travel to Nubia (November 1818–May 1819)
Work for William John Bankes (May 1819–February 1820)
Travel to Siwa (March–April 1820)
Travel to Sinai (September–November 1820)
Second Voyage to Upper Egypt with Baron von Minutoli (December 1820–February 1821)
Travel to Sennar (June 1821–February 1822)
Last Works in Egypt
4. With Champollion and Rosellini between Europe and Egypt
Work on the Manuscript, Research for a Publisher, and Acquaintance with Champollion
The Franco-Tuscan Expedition to Egypt (1828–29)
Sales Promotion of Rosellini's Book in Europe (1831)
Sickness, Death, and Inheritance (1832–34)
5. The Archaeological, Anthropological, and Natural History Collections
The Dresden Collection (1831)
The Florence Collection (1832)
Natural History and Anthropology Collections
6. The Travels: Topics and Problems
Story of an Account Lost and Found Several Times
The Plates: Sources and Descriptions
7. Identifying the Drawings for the Intended Plates
The Importance of Ricci's Drawings
Published Plates and Dispersion of the Originals
8. List of Plates
Travel in Nubia
Travel to the Temple of Jupiter-Amun
Travel to Mount Sinai
Travel to Sennar
Notes to Sources of Plate and Chapters 1–8
The Manuscript of the Travels
9. Note on the Original Manuscript, the Typewritten Copy, and the Present Edition
10. Travels of Doctor Alessandro Ricci of Siena: Made in the Years 1818, 1819, 1820, 1821, 1822 in Nubia, to the Temple of Jupiter-Amun, Mount Sinai, and Sennar
Travel to Nubia
Travel to the Temple of Jupiter-Amun
Travel to Mount Sinai
Travel to Sennar
Notes
Plates
Bibliography
Index