Antropología, Geografía e Historia

Matériau, fabrication, diffusion, de la fin de l'Ancien à la fin du Moyen Empire (env. 2350-1630 av. J.-C) Thèse codirigée par Mmes Laure Pantalacci et Victoria Asensi-Amoros soutenue le 20 Décembre 2013 Jury composé de Mesdames Laure Pantalacci (Professeur des universités, Lyon 2), Victoria Asensi-Amoros (Experte micrographe des bois, Xylodata), Guillemette Andreu-Lanoé (Conservateur général et directrice du département des antiquités égyptiennes, Musée du Louvre), Messieurs Michel Valloggia (Professeur Émérite, Université de Genève), Pierre Tallet (Maître de Conférences, HDR, Université Paris 4). Mots clé : Modèles funéraires -statuaire privée -bois -Saqqâra -Meir -Assiout -Moyenne-Égypte -Haute-Égypte -Région memphite-nécropole -VI e dynastie -Première Période intermédiaire -Moyen

Middle Kingdom Coffins from Qubbet el-Hawa: Manufacturing Techniques Investigated. Excavations carried out by the University of Jaen (Spain) under the direction of Alejandro Jiménez Serrano in the necropolis of Qubbet el-Hawa revealed an important collection of wooden coffins whose state of conservation brings new lighting to a new material discovered in situ. Through the study of manufacturing and painting techniques, this conference will highlight the handcrafts practices that have been identified but also parallels between several objects discovered in different burials dating from the 12th dynasty. Indeed, the use of imported wood in large quantities, quality pigments such as orpiment are characteristic of the production of an elite workshop whose location will be discussed here. Moreover, the systematic and masked use of the red color at the level of antique repairs, holes or assemblies will be examined and will ask the question of the apotropaic symbolism this practice. This conference will be presented in the framework of the TRACER Project (Marie Curie Fellowship-University College of London) whose objective is to highlight how the specialized production in one material, wood, correlates with the other dimensions of its historical context (religious, political, cultural). Comparing wooden coffins from Qubbet el-Hawa to the others wooden productions of the 12 th dynasty, this conference will study their special features and their common traits that highlight contacts between workshops geographically distant but that use similar practices.

Funerary wooden models fragments discovered in the necropolis of Qubbet el-Hawa (Aswan) by the Spanish mission of the University of Jaen  will be studied and placed in their global context: the second half of the 12th dynasty. Style, techniques and specific symbolism and functions will be explored.

The necropolis of Asyut has provided one of the most abundant ranges of wooden funerary material dating from the early Middle Kingdom; the quality and distinctive features of these products support the hypothesis of a regional artistic school. Today, the Asyutfindsare mainly dividedacross three large European Egyptological collections (British Museum, Louvre, and Museo Egizio in Turin).Together they shed new lighton a major craft activity in early second millennium BC Egypt. Combining the study of manufacturing techniques, materials and stylistic features of this production, the local specificities will be examined in order to highlight its evolution, to define dating criteria, and to assess the origin of thecraftsmen.

While private literature often mentions the close link between patrons and clients in ancient Egypt, the identification of material evidence of this relationship is much more difficult, especially when one is interested in an artisanal production that uses a perishable material like wood. Nevertheless, in examining this question from the point of view of the object itself, it is possible to highlight some elements which imply the involvement of a “superior” in the manufacture and possession of wooden objects intended for a subordinate. Through the examination of different particular cases, we will focus on the indices that materialize or not this relation patron / client and bring new light on the workshop and its modes of operation.

Indigenous and imported wood species were extensively used in Ancient Egypt for manufacturing objects of daily life and equipment for the afterlife, notably statuary and coffins. Despite the abundance and use throughout Pharaonic history, no global study has been carried out on this material. The TRACER project is developed at the Institute of Archeology of UCL until the autumn 2018. It lays the foundations of a global project dedicated to wood in Ancient Egypt. This Marie Curie Fellowship project is entitled "Tree Roots: an analytical 'culture' of economy and religion – case-study Egypt 2050-1550 BC". With an innovative double methodology combining archaeometric and theoretical approaches, the project analyses woodcraft as a societal "tracer" in Ancient Egypt during a key period of its history: the Middle Bronze Age. Combining stylistic and technical analysis, archaeobotany, analytical chemistry, 3D scanner for the study of tool marks and dendrochronology, the main objective of TRACER is to highlight how the specialized production in one material, carpentry, correlates with the other dimensions of its historical context (religious, political, cultural). Beyond the purely stylistic aspects, the archaeometric analyzes carried out on this furniture made it possible to identify workshops, methods of manufacture and to specify a chronology. Furthermore, the study of woodcraft gives a specific and innovative angle of study of the Egyptian society. This conference will be an opportunity to present the results and the perspectives of this two-year project which has been fed by the numerous Egyptian wooden collections around the world and the archaeological discoveries made in Egypt, particularly in the necropolis of Qubbet el-Hawa in Aswan. Using woodcraft as societal tracer, we will expose how this specific crafts highlights religious and cultural changes in Egypt during the Middle Bronze Age.

The woodcraft productions discovered in Deir el-Medina have been the subject of several studies, mainly devoted to wooden furniture preserved in museum collections. If coffins constitute the majority of the corpus, the wooden objects of Deir el-Medina are diverse and finally unknown. The reassessment of this dossier within the framework of the French mission of Ifao directed by C. Larcher since 2017, is closely linked to the project PÉRCÉA Bois (Projet d’Étude et de Restauration des Collections Égyptiennes Anciennes, Bois IFAO/UCL) that I developed at Ifao since 2018 and whose objective is the restoration and study of the wooden collections of the Institute. The vast majority of the PÉRCÉA Bois collection is made up of wood fragments of Theban origin and is closely linked to Deir el-Medina.
A research team made up of three Egyptologists (Anna Giulia de Marco, Lisa Sartini-University of Pisa, and myself) and a restorer (Jan Cutajar-UCL) was formed to take over the study and analysis of wooden furniture. The team collaborates with researchers who work on the village as Paolo Sartini, specialist of Shabti boxes (University of Pisa). This vast project aims to make the link between the abundant material still preserved in situ, largely unpublished, and museum objects. Combining archaeometric analyses, technical, stylistic and prosopographical studies, our main objective is to highlight the economic and social dynamics of the wood of the village of Deir el-Medina. This project will lead to an important publication in the Ifao presses by 2022.

DAY 2 : Producción e Identificación de los talleres de madera en el segundo milenio.
Session 1: Materiales, herramientas y producción: desde la madera en bruto hasta el objetos manufacturado.
Session 2: Modelando la vida después de la muerte: el caso de las maquetas, producción y funciones funerarias.
Session 3: Identificar producciones en el campo:  desde Qubbet el-Hawa hasta Deir el-Medina

Privilégiant une approche diachronique, le programme ÉBÉNES propose de développer une étude globale et pluridisciplinaire du matériau bois en Égypte afin d’identifier les réseaux économiques et artistiques qui régissent son utilisation au fil du temps. Outre les analyses archéométriques amenées à être conduites sur un vaste corpus d’objets en bois issu de missions archéologiques et de collections muséales (analyses des matériaux, tracéologie, dendromorphologie, dendrochronologie et datation par le C14), ÉBÉNES sollicitera les différentes spécialités des collaborateurs du programme pour recontextualiser le matériel au sein des grandes périodes historiques, ÉBÉNES poursuivra et élargira ainsi les travaux menés dans le cadre du projet PÉRCÉA Bois (18315) développé à l’Ifao en collaboration avec l’UCL depuis 2018 pour l’étude et la restauration des bois de l’Ifao . Le riche corpus sur lequel se fonde ÉBÉNES offre l’unique opportunité d’analyser, de comparer et remettre en perspective des bois datés de l’époque pharaonique jusqu’à l’époque Ottomane afin d’obtenir ainsi une vision claire de l’évolution des usages de ce matériau : - Les bois de l’Ifao, - 200 objets sélectionnés au musée Égyptien avec Moamen Othman, chef du secteur des musées, - La réserve du musée Copte - Les missions archéologiques de Deir el-Medina, Qoubbet el-Hawa, Éléphantine, Ouadi el- Jarf, Fustat Istabl’antar, Baouit.

The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology at UCL houses a diverse collection of funerary wooden models. These objects, deposited in the tombs of the Egyptian elites between the end of the Old Kingdom and the Middle Kingdom to guarantee the deceased a wholesome rebirth, come from excavations carried out or purchased by W.M F. Petrie in Egypt. Complete or fragmentary, with an often unclear archaeological context, these objects constitute a particularly interesting source of information on wood craftsmanship. The comparative study of this material will shed new light on this form of artisanal production by specifying its chronology and origins, but also on the archaeological works and the acquisitions of Petrie in Egypt from the end of the 19 th century.