Exhibition: Framing the Archaeologist at the Petrie

Heritage Key (Charlotte Booth)

I haven't seen this yet so I'm looking forward to a visit in the not too distant future:

Amidst the charming Victorian cases of jewellery along the walls of the larger room in the Petrie Museum is the “Framing the Archaeologist” exhibition (follow their blog here); a series of framed photographs from 1880 – 1900 categorised into excavation sites of Petrie; Giza 1800-1883, Delta sites 1883-86, and Al Arabar Al Madfunda (Abydos) 1899-1900. Each framed image is accompanied by a quote from a contemporary report or letter, giving some insight into the people depicted and their activities. One of the first pictures in the exhibition is the fabulous image of a young Petrie leaning casually against the wall of his “tomb with a view” where he stayed whilst excavating at Giza. This has always been one of my favourite images of Petrie, bearing little resemblance to the formal portraits of a bearded gentleman we are all familiar with. A young archaeologist with his life ahead of him.

Following the images around we are introduced to Sheikh Seidi of the Giza area, which emphasises the importance of village elders when hiring workers for work.