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An Egyptian craftsman weaving a mat on a floor loom
Mohamed Badry Kamel Basuny, writing for UNESCO, reports on the Intangible Heritage of Egyptian mat-making –
Mat, as a traditional craft, is considered a local craft dating back to ancient Egyptian era. The local people had been developed this innovative production “Mats” to face the common problem of humidity and insects. There are numerous models and forms to Egyptian mats, which are displayed in Torino Museum, Italy, that was used in ancient Egyptian rural community. This craft is needed a group of material and tools such as reeds and grasses especially el-Summar herbs (Juncus), and flax to weave strongly these reeds together. Unfortunately, the craft of mats doesn’t be well-known and popular like the old periods. Now, it is known in few Egyptian governorates such as el-Qaliubiya, el-Sharkeya, Kafr El-Sheikh, Qena, Assiut, el-Monoufia. (Egyptian Archives of Folk Life and Folk Traditions (EAFLFT), 2013).
Detail of an Egyptian floor loom
Full article here.
The Egyptian Sekhemka statue (2400 – 2300bce)
Image credit Mike Pitts
Mike Pitts, writing on his blog Digging Deeper, reports on Northampton’s Egyptian statue of Sekhemka which will probably leave the UK now that the Department for Culture, Media & Sport’s export licence deferral has finally expired –
Culture Minister Ed Vaizey placed a temporary export bar on the beautiful statue a year ago, after Christie’s sold it on behalf of Northampton Borough Council for a staggering £14m (though the council’s right to sell was far from clear). That bar was extended last October until March 29, “following notification of a serious intention to raise funds to save the Sekhemka statue for the UK”. Martin Bailey reports in the Art Newspaper that such funds never materialised. We don’t yet know where the statue is going, so we can still hope, perhaps, that it might emerge in a publicly accessible gallery or museum. This is a sad and shameful turn of events, but it’s unsurprising no one in the UK bought the statue. Thanks to Northampton Council’s actions, which included a murky deal with Lord Northampton, Sekhemka is tainted.
So here, as he embarks on another journey in his long history, is what he looked like when last seen in public. I’m pleased if anyone uses these photos (and I can supply higher resolution files on request, and have others). All I ask please (Art Newspaper) is a credit to Mike Pitts.
See our earlier articles on the Sekhemka statue by typing Sekhemka in the search box above.
An 1880 photograph showing the Alexandrian Obelisk (later to be known as Cleopatra’s Needle) being made ready for shipment from Egypt to the United States. The Obelisk was formally erected in New York’s Central Park in 1881
Cleopatra’s Needle is the popular name for each of three Ancient Egyptian obelisks re-erected in London, Paris, and New York City during the nineteenth century. The obelisks in London and New York are a pair, and the one in Paris is also part of a pair originally from a different site in Luxor, where its twin remains. Although all three needles are genuine Ancient Egyptian obelisks, their shared nickname is a misnomer, as they have no connection with Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt, and were already over a thousand years old in her lifetime. The London and New York “needles” were originally made during the reign of 18th Dynasty Thutmose III. The Paris “needle” dates to the reign of 19th Dynasty Ramesses II and was the first to be moved and re-erected as well as the first to acquire the nickname, “L’aiguille de Cléopâtre” in French.
The [Central Park] stone had stood in the clear dry Egyptian desert air for nearly 3000 years and had undergone little weathering. In a little more than a century in the climate of New York City, pollution and acid rain have heavily pitted its surfaces. In 2010, Dr. Zahi Hawass, sent an open letter to the president of the Central Park Conservancy and the Mayor of New York City insisting on improved conservation efforts. If they are not able to properly care for the obelisk, he has threatened to “take the necessary steps to bring this precious artefact home and save it from ruin.”
Source the Wikimedia entry on Cleopatra’s Needle.
A guest feature by Mohamed Badry and Mohamed Abdalla.
Ancient Memphis (Mit Rahina): Human-induced Impact Assessment, Heritage Impact Assessment was conducted by Mohamed Badry Kamel Basuny and his colleague Mohamed Abdallah under the supervision of their professor, Dr Michael Schmidt and his assistant Mr Mohamed Ravankhah. This short Introduction to their Assessment is a welcome guest feature on the subject. For the complete report please click on the link here.
Encroachment on Kom el-Rabi’ at Mit Rahina
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Mohamed Badry (16 January 2014)
Introduction for our case study:
Although the site is included in the list of World Heritage Sites, Memphis and its Necropolis, UNESCO is actually only interested of the Giza plateau site and other neglected sites from Saqqara to Dahshur. Mit Rahina is considered an adequate archaeological site for implementing Heritage Impact Assessment methodology providing an example of the Human-induced Impact on such archaeological sites.
The researchers used archaeological and Egyptological-related libraries, internet sources etc, together with oral sources obtained when interviewing Mr Mohamed Fathy Mansour of the Mit Rahina Inspectorate, during a fieldtrip conducted on Thursday, 16 January 2014. The visit evaluated the ground cover and potential for buried archaeological materials, as well as recording any standing or obtrusive archaeological and historical features.
This research will assess the current situation of Mit Rahina, the open air museum and the surrounding archaeological components which have been affected by human-induced impacts. It will then provide Heritage Impact assessment procedures, describe the current or proposed changes, and then identify the threats to the site in order to analyze its potential impact. Consequently, it will then suggest some mitigating measures.
Salinization close to archaeological remains at the Hathor Temple, Mit Rahina
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Mohamed Badry (16 Jananuary 2014)
Acknowledgements:
We are grateful to our professor Dr Michael Schmidt, Chair of Environmental Planning, BTU- Cottbus, Germany and his assistant Mr Mohamed Ravankhah, Research Assistant in the Department of Environmental Planning in Heritage Studies, for their guidance, encouragement and also, for their continuing support, and comments on the submitted paper. Moreover, we would like to thank Mr Mohamed Fathy Mansour, Mit Rahina Inspectorate, Mit Rahina Inspectorate register, who assisted us in doing direct on-site observations.
We are also grateful to the coordinators of both Helwan University (HU) in Cairo, Egypt and Brandenburg Technical University (BTU) in Cottbus-Senftenberg, Germany in selecteding us for this prestigious Joint Master Program Heritage Conservation and Site Management (HCSM).
The authors:
Mohamed Badry graduated from the Faculty of Arts, History Department, Cairo University (2009) and continued his education by graduating from Guidance Diploma, Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management, Helwan University (2011). He has a Master of Arts in Heritage Conservation and Heritage Site Management held jointly between two prestigious universities – Helwan University (Egypt) and BTU-Cottbus Senftenberg (Germany). His dissertation was in the field of heritage marketing under the title Developing Innovative Marketing Plan to Augment the Visitation of Egyptian World Heritage Sites: A Case Study of Saladin Citadel.
Mohamed Abdalla graduated from the Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management, Guidance Department, Helwan University (2000). He has much experience in the tourism industry through his position as Aviation Manager. He has a Master of Arts in Heritage Conservation and Heritage Site Management jointly between two prestigious universities – Helwan University (Egypt) and BTU-Cottbus Senftenberg (Germany). His dissertation was in the field of heritage marketing under the title Branding World Heritage Sites: Case of Egypt.
The Egyptian Sekhemka statue (2,400-2,300bce)
Northampton Borough Council claim that the sale is to help fund a £14m extension to the Northampton Museum and Art Gallery. However, ignoring protestations from Egypt’s Antiquities Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty, and concerned bodies and individuals in Britain (the Museums Association has sent a final warning to Northampton Borough Council saying it will review the authority’s membership status if it sells the statue), a spokesperson for Northampton Borough Council is reported as saying, “We contacted the Egyptian government two years ago regarding our plans to sell Sekhemka. According to Unesco’s 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, Egypt has no right to claim the recovery of the statue.”
Our understanding is that Egypt is not claiming ‘recovery’ of the statue at all; it is objecting (and rightly so) to the sale by Northampton Borough Council of a statue held by the Northampton Museum and Art Gallery, a statue that was gifted to the Museum by the 4th Marquis of Northampton in 1880. We learn, too, that if the sale of the statue does go ahead the proceeds will be shared with the present Lord Northampton (the Eton-educated peer whose fortune is estimated at £120m and which includes two stately homes, land, valuable paintings, furniture and a disputed Roman treasure hoard) who will receive some 45% of the proceeds.
This is another example of a dangerous trend in the selling off of public property (see also Croydon Council’s sale of Chinese ceramics last year here) and must be stopped before it is too late. If you feel that the sale of the Sekhemka statue should be halted please consider signing the Save Sekhemka Action Group petition here and the STOP THE SALE OF SEKHEMKA BY NORTHAMPTON COUNCIL petition here.