Muhammad Mohassib

Muhammad Mohassib (1843– April 6, 1928) was an Egyptian antiquities dealer in Luxor, Egypt. He began working as a young donkey boy to Lucie, Lady Duff-Gordon and learned English from her.[1] There may be a photo of him, or his son, in Margaret Benson's book Temple of Mut in Asher.[2] He opened an antiquities shop in Luxor in the early 1880s and became well known among especially British and French archaeologists and dealers. A lot of important collections in museums in Europe and the US were partly bought from Mohassib.[3] For example, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (US) purchased a "Head of a King" from Mohassib in 1904.[4]

Americans Theodore M. Davis and Emma Andrews bought a number of pieces from Mohassib the entire time they were travelling through Egypt (1889-1913).[5] For example, in March 1898, Davis bought mummified remains from Mohassib, that had come from Nagada with the intention of donating them to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[6] E. A. Wallis Budge of the British Museum corresponded with Mohassib, who would regularly arrange to purchase items from him. As with any antiquities dealers in this period, Mohassib frequently sold items stolen from "inadequately supervised excavations" around Luxor,[1] and Davis and Andrews were reasonably certain they regularly bought back items from their own sites.[5] Because of this, it is difficult to ascertain the provenance of many items coming from his shop.

Upon his death on April 6, 1928, in Luxor, Percy Newberry memorialized him in the Journal of Egyptian Archaeology.[1] Newberry wrote of him, "He was a man of fine character, generous, beloved by all who knew him, especially the poor of his native village."[1]

Further reading

  1. E. A. Wallis Budge, A Narrative of Journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on Behalf of the British Museum Between the Years 1886 and 1913 London: John Murray, 1920.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Newberry, Percy (1928). "Notes and News". Journal of Egyptian Archaeology. 14 (1/2): 184.
  2. ^ a b Benson, Margaret; Gourlay, Janet (1899). THE TEMPLE OF MUT IN ASHER: AN ACCOUNT OF THE EXCAVATION OF THE TEMPLE AND OF THE RELIGIOUS REPRESENTATIONS AND OBJECTS fOUND THEREIN, AS ILLUSTRATING THE HISTORY OF EGYPT AND THE MAIN RELIGIOUS IDEAS OF THE EGYPTIANS. London: John Murray. p. 186.
  3. ^ Bierbrier, Morris (2012). Who was Who in Egyptology (4th ed.). Egypt Exploration Society. pp. 376–377.
  4. ^ "Head of a King". Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  5. ^ a b Adams, John M. (2013). The Millionaire and the Mummies: Theodore Davis's Gilded Age in the Valley of the Kings. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 171.
  6. ^ Andrews, Emma (1898). A Journal on the Bedawin, Volume 2. p. 30.
  7. ^ Budge, E. A. Wallis. "By Nile and Tigris: a narrative of Journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British Museum between the years 1886 and 1913". archive.org. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
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