Leseprobe

39 The history of the Egyptian holdings in the Dresden Skulpturensammlung Marc Loth The Dresden Skulpturensammlung (Sculpture Collection) holds a significant collection of Egyptian antiquities from the Predynastic, Pharaonic and Graeco-Roman Periods, comprising around 6,000 objects. Relative to their quantity and quality, these fascinating artefacts have, until now, received surprisingly little attention in terms of public awareness or recognition in specialist circles. While this may be partly due to the dazzling splendour of the other artistic treasures that Dresden has to offer, the fact that for many decades, the Aegyptiaca were either not on display or inadequately presented – above all due to a lack of exhibition space following the Second World War – will no doubt also have contributed to this situation. Given the size of the collection, it is understandable that the Egyptian holdings were not separated into an independent institution and instead remained an integral part of the Antikensammlung (Antiquities Collection), and later of the Skulpturensammlung; this framework also secured the continued existence of the collection. The establishment of Egyptology as a university discipline in Dresden could doubtless have brought new impetus to the collection, but as this never occurred, the Skulpturensammlung has mainly been supported by Egyptologists from Berlin and Leipzig in the specialist care, interpretation and presentation of its Ancient Egyptian objects. At this point, it should be mentioned that Dresden has also produced a number of notable Egyptologists, such as Winfried Barta (1928–1992), Wolfgang Helck (1914– 1993) or Eberhard Otto (1913–1974). In the following sections of this essay, the long and eventful history of the Pharaonic objects in the Dresden Skulpturensammlung will be presented as a chronological outline of key acquisitions, museum presentations and publications. It is no longer possible to determine exactly when Ancient Egyptian finds first entered the collections of the Saxon Electors. As early as the late 17th century, the electoral Hofapotheke (court pharmacy) is said to have owned not only Ancient Egyptian mummies, which since the Middle Ages had been considered a (very expensive) universal medicine, but also other, smaller-format finds. These kinds of archaeological objects were collected by monarchs as historical curiosities. The Aegyptiaca are attested in an illustrated catalogue of the Dresden Antikensammlung (fig. 2) that was compiled and published by Raymond Leplat (1664–1742) in 1733. In his capacity as Generalinspekteur (general director) of the Königliche Sächsische Sammlungen (Royal Saxon Collections), Leplat had purchased many of these objects in Rome on the order of Augustus the Strong (1670–1733). The most significant additions were the antiquities from the collections of Alessandro Albani and Flavio Chigi that he acquired in 1728. Shortly before this (probably around 1723/26), numerous antiquities had also found their way to Dresden from the Antikenkabinett (Cabinet of Antiquities) of the Brandenburgisch-Preussische Kunstkammer (Brandenburg-Prussian Art Chamber) in Berlin, most likely as a gift from King Friedrich Wilhelm I. Among these antiquities were a number of Ancient Egyptian objects, which were surely not considered to be random additions. A serious, at times scientific, but also religious and esoteric interest in Pharaonic finds can be attested by, among other things, the fact that forgeries of such objects were not uncommon at this time. Also noteworthy are the examples of artistic engagement with the advanced civilisation of Ancient Egypt; the most prominent work of this kind in Dresden is the Apis-Altar created by Johann Melchior Dinglinger (1664–1731) between 1724 and 1731 (cf. the contribution by Dirk Syndram in this volume), and now held in the Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault). The exact number of Aegyptiaca held in the Antikensammlung around 1730 can no longer be determined. This is partly due to the fact that the acquisition date of some of the subsequently attested pieces is unknown, but also because past and present assignments of these items to Pharaonic culture Fig. 1 David Brandt, Albertiunum, Display Storeroom, 2010

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