Bernardino Drovetti
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Bernardino Drovetti (1776-1852) was an Italian diplomat, explorer and antiquarian, best known as French consul to Egypt at a time when the country and its antiquities were being opened rapidly to European knowledge and acquisition. His methods were deplorable. If twenty albaster vases were found in a tomb, he would see to it that half were smashed to bring up their price. He would break off the pyramidion (top portion) off of an oblisk to make it easier to dispose of, etc. But statues of him were raised in his native Italy for services rendered in gathering together the magnificent works of Egyptian art and astonishingly beautiful papyri for Europe. Besides, the Egyptians themselves tried to pull down the pyramids to use the huge stones for dams and canals.
Drovetti's substantial collection of Egyptian antiquities formed the basis for the foundation of the Museo Egizio in Turin.
[edit] Further reading
- Ronald T. Ridly, Napoleon's Proconsul In Egypt: The Life and Times of Bernardino Drovetti, Rubicon Press, 1998. ISBN 0-948695-59-5
A biography of Bernardino Drovetti at the Travellers in Egypt web site
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