Thebes. Memnonium. Plan Topographique du Tombeau d'Osymandyas, des deux Colosses de la Plaine et des Ruines Environnantes. by THEBES) Jollois et al (del). Schroeder (sculpt) - Ca. 1820.

Paris.: Panckouke.. Ca. 1820.. Copper plate engraving (uncolored), image approximately 18 1/2 x 24 inches on sheet size 20 3/4 x 27 3/4 inches. Very good condition: faint dampstain to lower right corner (outside plate area). Publisher's blindstamp at top right. A detailed topographical map showing the location of the tomb of Ramesses II and surrounding environs. This very large, finely engraved image is plate 19 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. .