A medical practitioner and talented draftsman, Alessandro Ricci was born in Siena, Italy, at the end of the eighteenth century. He traveled extensively throughout Egypt and Sudan between 1817 and 1822. During his stay, he worked as an epigraphist for Giovanni B. Belzoni in the tomb of Seti I and later entered into the service of British consul general Henry Salt and English explorer William John Bankes, on whose behalf he visited and documented Siwa (1820), Sinai (1820), and Nubia (1818-19 and 1821-22). Ricci also became the physician to Ibrahim Pasha's Upper Egypt expedition and achieved fame for daringly saving the life of Ibrahim Pasha during the military campaign that led to Egypt's conquest of Sudan in 1821-22. Upon his return to Italy, Ricci wrote a long account of all his journeys and reworked a series of ninety plates into striking form, yet failed to publish either. In 2009, Daniele Salvoldi identified a complete typewritten copy of Ricci's Travels in the National Archives of Egypt in Cairo. Drawings intended to accompany the text as plates were tracked down in different locations in Italy and the United Kingdom. From Siena to Nubia is the English-translated critical edition, with notes and introductory chapters, of Ricci's travel account, which provides detailed information about the countries he visited, including descriptions of ancient ruins and social customs, botanical and geological remarks, and historical and ethnographical observations. It adds to the recent, growing corpus of exploration literature on nineteenth-century Egypt as well as bringing to light obscure sources important to the early history of Egyptology.
Edited by:
Daniele Salvodi
Translated by:
Daniele Salvodi
Imprint: The American University in Cairo Press
Dimensions:
Height: 280mm,
Width: 200mm,
Weight: 2.426kg
ISBN: 9789774168543
ISBN 10: 9774168542
Pages: 472
Publication Date: 30 January 2018
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Acknowledgments Sources of Plates Maps Alessandro Ricci and His Travels 1. Tuscany, Egypt, Ricci, and the First Steps of Egyptology The Grand Duchy of Tuscany and Egypt The Napoleonic Campaign and the Rise of Muhammad Ali Pasha The War of the Consuls and the Beginning of Egyptology 2. Alessandro Ricci: Early Life, Personality, and Cultural Background Early Life Personality Cultural Background 3. Travels in Egypt and Sennar (1817-22) Organization and Funding Tools Arrival in Egypt: 1815, 1817, or 1818? Alexandria to Cairo (February-March 1817) Travel to Upper Egypt, Epigraphic Copy of the Tomb of Seti I, and Expedition to Berenike (February-September 1818) Travel to Nubia (November 1818-May 1819) Work for William John Bankes (May 1819-February 1820) Travel to Siwa (March-April 1820) Travel to Sinai (September-November 1820) Second Voyage to Upper Egypt with Baron von Minutoli (December 1820-February 1821) Travel to Sennar (June 1821-February 1822) Last Works in Egypt 4. With Champollion and Rosellini between Europe and Egypt Work on the Manuscript, Research for a Publisher, and Acquaintance with Champollion The Franco-Tuscan Expedition to Egypt (1828-29) Sales Promotion of Rosellini's Book in Europe (1831) Sickness, Death, and Inheritance (1832-34) 5. The Archaeological, Anthropological, and Natural History Collections The Dresden Collection (1831) The Florence Collection (1832) Natural History and Anthropology Collections 6. The Travels: Topics and Problems Story of an Account Lost and Found Several Times The Plates: Sources and Descriptions 7. Identifying the Drawings for the Intended Plates The Importance of Ricci's Drawings Published Plates and Dispersion of the Originals 8. List of Plates Travel in Nubia Travel to the Temple of Jupiter-Amun Travel to Mount Sinai Travel to Sennar Notes to Sources of Plate and Chapters 1-8 The Manuscript of the Travels 9. Note on the Original Manuscript, the Typewritten Copy, and the Present Edition 10. Travels of Doctor Alessandro Ricci of Siena: Made in the Years 1818, 1819, 1820, 1821, 1822 in Nubia, to the Temple of Jupiter-Amun, Mount Sinai, and Sennar Travel to Nubia Travel to the Temple of Jupiter-Amun Travel to Mount Sinai Travel to Sennar Notes Plates Bibliography Index
Daniele Salvoldi holds a PhD in Egyptology from the University of Pisa and currently teaches history of architecture at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport in Alexandria, Egypt. In 2011, he catalogued the William J. Bankes Egyptological drawings in Dorchester and in 2014-2016 he was postdoctoral fellow at the Freie Universitat Berlin.
Reviews for From Siena to Nubia: Alessandro Ricci in Egypt and Sudan, 1817-22
The 'package' provided by this volume is a model for publishing 'period' manuscripts of this kind, both in content and immaculate presentation. It represents a major contribution to the study of early Egyptology and the history of early 19th century Egypt, and can be wholeheartedly recommended. * Egyptian Archaeology *
