Ludwig Borchardt
Encyclopedia
Ludwig Borchardt was a German Egyptologist who was born in Berlin.
and later Egyptology
under Adolf Erman
. In 1895 he journeyed to Cairo
and produced, with Gaston Maspero
, the Catalogue of the Egyptian Museum (Catalogue Général du Musée du Caire). In 1907 he founded the German Archaeological Institute
(Deutsches Archäologische Institut) in Cairo
, and remained its director until 1928.
His main focus was Ancient Egyptian architecture. He began excavations in Amarna
, where he discovered the workshop of the sculptor Djhutmose
, amongst its contents was the bust of Nefertiti, (now in the Neues Museum
in Berlin). He also directed the excavations in Heliopolis
and the tombs of Old Kingdom
nobles in Abu Gorab
. He died in Paris, on 12 August 1938. Recently, controversy has arisen with the assertion he smuggled the bust of Nefertiti out of Egypt by reporting it as an artifact made of gypsum. It has also been claimed by Swiss art historian Henri Stierlin
that the bust is a copy dating from 1912.
Life
Borchardt initially studied ArchitectureArchitecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
and later Egyptology
Egyptology
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century. A practitioner of the discipline is an “Egyptologist”...
under Adolf Erman
Adolf Erman
Johann Peter Adolf Erman was a renowned Egyptologist and lexicographer.-Life:Born in Berlin, he was the son of Georg Adolf Erman and grandson of Paul Erman....
. In 1895 he journeyed to Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
and produced, with Gaston Maspero
Gaston Maspero
Gaston Camille Charles Maspero was a French Egyptologist.-Life:Gaston Maspero was born in Paris to parents of Lombard origin. While at school he showed a special taste for history, and by the age of fourteen he was already interested in hieroglyphic writing...
, the Catalogue of the Egyptian Museum (Catalogue Général du Musée du Caire). In 1907 he founded the German Archaeological Institute
German Archaeological Institute
The German Archaeological Institute is an institution of research within the field of archaeology , and a "scientific corporation", with parentage of the federal Foreign Office of Germany-Origin:...
(Deutsches Archäologische Institut) in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, and remained its director until 1928.
His main focus was Ancient Egyptian architecture. He began excavations in Amarna
Amarna
Amarna is an extensive Egyptian archaeological site that represents the remains of the capital city newly–established and built by the Pharaoh Akhenaten of the late Eighteenth Dynasty , and abandoned shortly afterwards...
, where he discovered the workshop of the sculptor Djhutmose
Thutmose (sculptor)
"The King's Favourite and Master of Works, the Sculptor Thutmose" , flourished 1350 BC, is thought to have been the official court sculptor of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten in the latter part of his reign...
, amongst its contents was the bust of Nefertiti, (now in the Neues Museum
Neues Museum
The ' is a museum in Berlin, Germany, located to the north of the Altes Museum on Museum Island.It was built between 1843 and 1855 according to plans by Friedrich August Stüler, a student of Karl Friedrich Schinkel. The museum was closed at the beginning of World War II in 1939, and was heavily...
in Berlin). He also directed the excavations in Heliopolis
Heliopolis (ancient)
Heliopolis was one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt, the capital of the 13th Lower Egyptian nome that was located five miles east of the Nile to the north of the apex of the Nile Delta...
and the tombs of Old Kingdom
Old Kingdom
Old Kingdom is the name given to the period in the 3rd millennium BC when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization in complexity and achievement – the first of three so-called "Kingdom" periods, which mark the high points of civilization in the lower Nile Valley .The term itself was...
nobles in Abu Gorab
Abu Gorab
Abu Gurab is a sun temple built by the people of ancient Egypt. It was excavated by Egyptologists between 1898 and 1901 by Ludwig Borchardt on behalf of the Berlin Museum and is located near the city of Memphis...
. He died in Paris, on 12 August 1938. Recently, controversy has arisen with the assertion he smuggled the bust of Nefertiti out of Egypt by reporting it as an artifact made of gypsum. It has also been claimed by Swiss art historian Henri Stierlin
Henri Stierlin
Henri Stierlin b. 2 April 1928 in Alexandria, Egypt, is a comparative historian of art and architecture, journalist and photographer.-Academic courses:...
that the bust is a copy dating from 1912.
Publications
- Baugeschichte des Amontempels von Karnak (1905)
- Die Annalen und die zeitliche Festlegung des Alten Reiches der ägyptischen Geschichte (1917)
- Quellen und Forschungen zur Zeitbestimmung der Ägyptischen Geschichte, 3 Bde. (1917-1938)