Thebes. Hypogees. Tenons en Bois. Fragmens D'Enveloppe de Momie et Autres Antiques. by THEBES) Redoute, H. J. et al (drawn by) - Ca. 1820.

Paris.: Panckouke.. Ca. 1820.. Copper plate engraving (uncolored), image approx. 23 x 17 inches on sheet approximately 28 x 21 inches. Very good condition: 1/2 inch tear and soft crease to upper right edge (well outside image area), light scattered foxing (mainly in outer margins). Publisher's blindstamp at top right. This very large, finely engraved image is plate 57 from Volume II of the Antiquities section of the monumental publication "Description de L'Egypte," which documented the research of the "savants" who accompanied Napoleon Bonaparte's ambitious expedition to Egypt (1798-1801). The full title, translated into English reads "Description of Egypt, or the collection of observations and research made in Egypt during the Expedition of the French Army" hinting at the varied purposes of this foray into the Middle East. The European demand for information about Egypt and its glorious monuments led to the publication of two editions of the work, with engravings pulled from the same printing plates; this is from the second edition, uncolored as issued. Shown are decorations from coffins, with fragments of fabric and other objects, including wooden tenons from a demolition at Thebes, upper parts of ushabtis (funerary figurines) and a fragment of a canopic jar; the quality of the engraving powerfully evokes the splendor of these once whole fragments. .