‎La Politique Générale Européenne en Afrique.‎

‎L. Fournier Paris 1912 In-8 ( 220x150 mm ) demi basane rouge. Titre doré sur dos lisse orné de filets dorés en place des nerfs. Numéros de bibliothèque et ex-libris aux initiales dorés en queue.Présence de tampons imprimés de bibliothèque.186 pages.Les ambitions de chaque puissance et les projets de chemins de fer.Fachoda et le Congo.Ce qui est perdu et ce qu'on peut encore faire.Ce qu'est l'affaire du Congo : un nouveau Fachoda.L'avenir de l'Afrique. Quelques prédictions.1 carte dépliante. D'autres photos sur www.cazitel.com ‎

‎SUR LES TRACES DES DERNIERS NOMADES‎

‎( Poste quotidienne tous les Mardi et Vendredi ), collection Le monde par l'image, 190pp. HACHETTE 1962 240 x 305mm Couverture rigide ‎

‎ Bon‎

‎Grammaire arabe vulgaire,‎

‎pour les dialectes d'Orient et de Barbarie. Paris, Librairie Orientale de Dondey-Dupré, 1833, in-8, demi-bas. dos orné [Rel. de l'époque]. 2 ff.n.ch., pp. [v]-xv, 172 pp., 6 ff.n.ch. en arabe Gay 3389 qui donne une collation erronée pour cette seconde édition.‎

‎Anatomie et physiologie animales et végétales (à l'usage de l'enseignement secondaire des jeunes filles ).‎

‎ Vuibert et Nony éditeurs 1905 état d'usage 183 pages in 12 reliure éditeur cartonnée toilée verte .ouvrage dédicacé par l'auteur .‎

‎Maladies de l'Armée d'Orient‎

‎(Campagne 1854-55-56). Statistique médicale de l'hôpital de l'école militaire à Constantinople. Paris, chez J.-B. Baillière, 1860, in-8 de 280 et xliv pp. d'appendice, br., couv. imprimée crème. V. Rozier, 807. Tiré à part rare. Extrait de La Gazette médicale de l'Algérie. Le docteur Cazales (1813-1884) fut médecin chef de l'hôpital d'Oran et l'hôpital du Dey d'Alger. Il fit la campagne d'Orient en Dobrogea (Dobroudja en ffrançais) puis à Constantinople.‎

‎Notice sur Alger‎

‎Paris, Félix Locquin, 1831, in-8, demi-chagrin noir, dos lisse [Rel. moderne]. 38 pp. Playfair 469. Tailliart 1850. Unique édition de ce petit opuscule, qui forme d'abord une apologie de la politique et de l'administration de Clauzel dont l'auteur avait été le secrétaire, pour se transformer en éloge de l'acquisition de l'Algérie "qui sera un bon placement et produira en peu de temps toutes les denrées coloniales".‎

‎Notice sur Alger‎

‎Paris, Félix Locquin, 1831, in-8, dérelié. 38 pp. Playfair 469. Tailliart 1850. Unique édition de ce petit opuscule, qui forme d'abord une apologie de la politique et de l'administration de Clauzel dont l'auteur avait été le secrétaire, pour se transformer en éloge de l'acquisition de l'Algérie "qui sera un bon placement et produira en peu de temps toutes les denrées coloniales".‎

‎LE MAGASIN PITTORESQUE - Livraison n°026 - L'ile du Prince, Afrique occidentale.‎

‎Aux bureaux d'abonnement et vente - Paris rue Jacob.. juin 1856. Bon état. Livré sans Couverture. Intérieur frais. 8 pages environ illustrées de gravures en noir et blanc dans le texte. Paginées de 201 à 208.‎

‎L'île du Prince , Afrique occidentale avec gravure dans le texte d'un cours d'eau à l'ile du Prince. De Macon à Charolles, notes d'un voyageur illustré du'ne gravure dans le texte de la maison où est né Lamartine à Mâcon et portrait dans le texte de Charles Lacretelle, à suivre. Le bain des pauvres à Bude. Piège à hippopotames avec gravure dans le texte.‎

‎LE MAGASIN PITTORESQUE - Livraison n°030 - Toujourra (Afrique orientale).‎

‎Aux bureaux d'abonnement et vente - Paris rue Jacob.. juillet 1859. Bon état. Couv. convenable. Intérieur frais. 8 pages environ illustrées de gravures en noir et blanc dans le texte. Paginées de 233 à 240.‎

‎Toujourra avec gravure dans le texte. Les frontières de la France - frontière du nord-est (Belgique et Allemagne) illustré d'une carte dans le texte des frontières de al France au Nord est,à suivre. Jean paul Pannini illustré d'une grande gravure dans le texte de monuments antiques de Rome, peinture par Jean paul Pannini d'après copie du tableau de Lenoir. La science en 1858 - suite - chimie organique. Source baptismale des Mormons près de Great Salt Lake City avec gravure dnas le texte de cette source.‎

‎GEOGRAPHIE DU BURUNDI ; LE PAYS ET LES HOMMES‎

‎Broché EDICEF 1979, 135p. EDICEF 1979 Couverture souple ‎

‎ Bon‎

‎"DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE. El Kab (Elethyia). Bas-reliefs de plusieurs grottes, planche rehaussée en couleurs. (ANTIQUITES, volume I, planche 70)"‎

‎" - Imprimerie Impériale, Paris 1809-1829, 54x71cm, une feuille. - Gravure originale à l'eau-forte, une des 72 planches rehaussées en couleurs à la bobine, extraite de l'édition dite « Impériale » de la Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand. Réalisée entre février 1802 et 1829 sur ordre de Napoléon Bonaparte et publiée à partir de 1809 [en réalité 1810], elle fut tirée à 1000 exemplaires sur Vergé filigrané « Égypte ancienne et moderne » et offerte aux institutions. Infimes et marginales piqûres sans aucune atteinte à la gravure, sinon excellent état de fraîcheur et de conservation. Volume ANTIQUITES, I : Ces gravures fournissent à Jean-François Champollion une documentation épigraphique fondamentale pour le déchiffrage des hiéroglyphes et inspirent une lignée d'archéologues comme Mariette, Maspero et Carter qui donnent un nouveau visage à l'Egypte ancienne. Elles suscitent un engouement tel qu'elles donnent naissance au phénomène de l'égyptomanie et à l'orientalisme de Delacroix, Fromentin, Marilhat, Decamps mais aussi Théophile Gautier... Financiers, politiciens, marchands, et fouilleurs de tous ordres se presseront sur les rives du Nil en quête de bonnes affaires à la suite de cette redécouverte de l'Egypte. A l'origine de l'égyptologie, ces planches connaîtront une postérité immense. LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, édition IMPERIALE (1809-1829) : La Description de l'Egypte est un des chefs d'uvre de l'édition française et le point de départ d'une nouvelle science : l'égyptologie. Titanesque exposé de l'Egypte au temps des conquêtes de Bonaparte entre 1798 et 1799, elle est répartie en 23 volumes dont 13 volumes de gravures rassemblant près de 1000 planches en noir et 72 en couleur. Les 6 volumes de planches intitulées Antiquités sont consacrés aux splendeurs de l'Egypte pharaonique. L'Histoire naturelle est répartie en 3 volumes de gravures. Un volume est consacré aux Cartes géographiques et topographiques tandis que les 3 volumes : Etat Moderne dressent un portrait saisissant de l'Egypte copte et islamique telle qu'elle était vue par les armées d'Orient de Bonaparte. La « campagne d'Egypte », désastre militaire, dévoile à travers les gravures de la Description de l'Egypte la réussite scientifique qu'elle est devenue, grâce aux quelques 167 savants membres de la Commission des sciences et des arts de l'Institut d'Egypte qui suivaient l'armée de Napoléon. L'Institut a réuni en Egypte le mathématicien Monge, le chimiste Berthollet, le naturaliste Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ainsi que de nombreux artistes, ingénieurs, architectes, médecins... Ils eurent la charge de redécouvrir l'Egypte moderne et antique, d'en montrer les richesses naturelles, et le savoir-faire de ses habitants. L'édition originale, dite « Impériale », de la Description de l'Egypte fut réalisée sur quatre formats de grande taille, deux d'entre eux spécialement créés pour elle et baptisés formats « Moyen-Egypte » et « Grand-Egypte ». On construisit une presse spécifique pour son impression, qui s'étala sur vingt ans, entre 1809 et 1829. L'édition Impériale s'avéra si populaire qu'une deuxième édition en 37 volumes entièrement en noir et sans le filigrane « Egypte ancienne et moderne », dite édition « Panckoucke », fut publiée à partir de 1821 par l'imprimerie C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). La réalisation de ce monument d'érudition doit beaucoup au baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrateur, diplomate, collectionneur et par la suite directeur du musée Napoléon du Louvre qui accompagna Napoléon en Egypte avec de nombreux autres savants mais décida seul de s'aventurer dans le Sud du pays, alors que les autres scientifiques conviés restaient confinés dans la région du Caire. Les fabuleux croquis rapportés par Denon lors de sa romanesque chevauchée donnèrent l'idée à Bonaparte d'y envoyer les autres membres de l'Institut et ainsi dresser un portrait fidèle et complet du territoire. A la suite de Denon, ce sont donc les plus grands scientifiques et artistes français qui s'aventurèrent le long du Nil jusqu'en Nubie. Parmi eux, le peintre au muséum d'histoire naturelle H.J. Redouté (frère de Pierre-Joseph Redouté, auteur des Roses), le minéralogiste Dolomieu, le dessinateur Joly, et les ingénieurs Fourier et Costaz, chargés de l'étude scientifique des vestiges antiques de Haute-Egypte. Sans doute pour la première fois réunie dans une telle expédition, l'élite scientifique et artistique française, composée de plus de 160 « savants » dont près de 50 artistes, étudie méthodiquement l'Egypte pendant trois ans. Ils réalisent alors, sous l'égide et à la gloire de Napoléon, la plus vaste analyse historique, géographique, scientifique, économique et ethnologique jamais réalisée sur un pays. Mais ce sont peut-être les gravures qui constituèrent le défi technique majeur de cette Description de l'Egypte, comme en témoigne Yves Laissus, commissaire de l'exposition organisée en 2009 par la RMN et le Musée de l'Armée aux Invalides : « L'illustration, 836 planches dont une soixantaine en couleurs, gravées à l'eau forte et au burin dans des formats jusqu'alors inusités (le plus grand couvre près d'un mètre carré), a nécessité la construction de nouvelles formes et cuves pour la fabrication du papier, justifié l'invention, par Nicolas Conté, d'une machine destinée à alléger la besogne des graveurs, et exigé la réalisation de nouvelles presses capables d'imprimer ces images immenses. Certaines d'entre elles ont demandé deux années de travail. Près de 200 graveurs ont reproduit sur le cuivre les uvres de 62 dessinateurs dont 46 ont participé à l'expédition. » Rare et superbe gravure originale d'une exceptionnelle facture et qualité graphique, témoignage d'une des plus ambitieuses aventures éditoriales françaises. - Photos sur www.Edition-originale.com - [AUTOMATIC ENGLISH TRANSLATION FOLLOWS] Original, unshaved, full-page etching from the ""Imperial edition"" of the Description de l'Égypte, or 'Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand [A Collection of the observations and research carried out in Egypt during the French expedition, published on the orders of his Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great]'. Produced between February 1802 and 1830 on the orders of Naopleon Bonaparte and published between 1809 and 1828, 1,000 copies were printed and distributed to institutions, on vergé paper with an 'Égypte ancienne et moderne' watermark, visible when held up to the light. Light marginal spotting not touching image, otherwise in very fresh, fine condition. An engraving from the Description de l'Egypte, one of the masterpieces of French printing and the birth of a new field: Egyptology. A gigantic survey of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests in 1798 and 1799, the work is divided into 13 volumes of engravings making up 892 plates, of which 72 colored, as well as presenting the splendors of the Egypt of the Pharaohs in 9 volumes. The other volumes discuss natural history and present a fascinating portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's Eastern Armies. The 'Egyptian campaign', militarily a disaster, demonstrates, through the engravings of the Description d'Egypte, the scientific success it nonetheless became thanks to the 167 expert members of the Commission of the Sciences and Arts of the Institut d'Egypte [Egyptian Institute] who followed Napoleon's army. The Institut gathered together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects and doctors. They were tasked with re-discovering modern and ancient Egypt and displaying its natural treasures as well as the know-how of its inhabitants. This edition, the so-called ""Imperial"" edition of the plates for the Description de l'Egypte was printed in four large formats, two of which were specially created for it and christened ""Moyen-Egypte"" and ""Grand-Egypte"". A special press was built to print it, the process extending over 20 years, from 1809 to 1829. The ""Imperial"" edition proved so popular that a second edition, this time in black and white and without the ""Egypte ancienne et moderne"" watermark - known as the ""Royal Edition"" - was published during the Restoration by the printing house of C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). The engravings of the Description d'Egypte owe a great deal to Baron Dominique-Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later Director of the Musée Napoléon (the Louvre). His exploration of the South of Egypt gave Bonaparte the idea of sending the experts of the Institut there, thus creating a faithful and complete portrait of the area. This was the research gathered together from 1802 in the mammoth Description de L'Egypte. Denon embarked on this story of archeological exploration at the age of 51, reaching first Alexandria and then Cairo before exploring Upper Egypt. Along with the members of the Institut d'Egypte, the Natural History Museum's painter H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of Roses), the mineralogist Dolomiue, and the draughtsman Joly, Denon then explored the Nile Delta and Lower Egypt. When, however, he joined the 21st Light Infantry Regiment as it marched across Upper Egypt in pursuit of the retreating Mameluks in November 1798, he found himself the only civilian. In the very midst of the battle itself, he reeled off sketches of the works of art that peppered his path right up to the threshold of the Sudan. He said that he had crossed ""a country that is, apart from its name, entirely unknown to Europeans, and therefore everything was worth describing"" (Voyages dans la Basse et la Haute Egypte pendant les campagnes de Bonaparte en 1798 et 1799, 1817). On his return to Cairo, the great general, spellbound by Denon's accounts and drawings ordered two commissions to be set up, led by the engineers Fourier and Costaz. They were tasked with the scientific study of the ancient remains in Upper Egypt; research that proved a significant contribution to the monumental Description d'Egypte, from which this plate is taken. ANCIENT EGYPTThese engravings therefore represent a unique body of material that contributed to Jean-François Champollion's deciphering of hieroglyphics, and which mark the beginning of the line of Mariette, Maspero and Carter, who would reshape the face of Ancient Egypt. They also started a craze that gave birth to the phenomenon of Egyptomania and the Orientalism of Delacroix, Fromentin, Marilhat, Decamps and Théophile Gautier. Financiers, politicians, merchants and all kinds of treasure-hunters made their way to the banks of the Nile in search of riches, following this rediscovery of Egypt. The originators of Egyptology, these plates were to have a hugely influential afterlife. NATURAL HISTORYThese engravings show the scientific genius of the French experts then working on the ground in Egypt, laying the foundations for its becoming a French colony. This colonizing project, which had been mooted since the reign of Louis XIV, was now accompanied - with Bonaparte's arrival - by an in-depth study of the country's fauna and flora thanks to the work of the most eminent naturalists, mineralogists, and entomologists of the day. The Description de l'Egypte shows all of this immense scientific undertaking through its engravings, which were done after drawings by members of the Academy of Science, including Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hillaire, Alire Raffenau-Delile and Henri-Joseph Redouté. In the words of Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ""We have gathered the material for the greatest work that a nation could hope to undertake. In mourning the fate of so many brave soldiers who - after so many glorious exploits - fell in Egypt, we shall be able to console ourselves that such precious works came into being."" MODERN EGYPTThe genius of the experts of the Institut d'Egypte is revealed in the plates of the section known as ""Modern Egypte"". Architecture, industry, social organization, conditions of health, irrigation, music, and crafts, are all presented with exceptional precision and powers of description. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie runs through the work of the draughtsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompanied the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, undertaking to produce a portrait of the local population that was imbued with both beauty and respect. Wealthy Pashas and simple artisan potters are sensitively represented here, going about their business in beautifully composed images that nonetheless do not fall into the traps of idealism or caricature. ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE (the ""Cairo"" plates) The set of engravings to which this plate belongs constitutes one of the first complete studies of the monuments of Islamic Egypt in Cairo, bringing together maps, sections and elevations of mosques, mausoleums and fortifications, from the Tulunid era in the 9th century up to the Mameluk constructions contemporaneous with the arrival of the Bonapartist troops. At the same time, the architects and engineers of the Institut d'Egypte also made a big series of plates dedicated to civilian housing and edifices in Cairo, including both grander and more modest constructions, providing a precious picture of life in Cairo at the end of the 19th century. BAB AL FOUTOUH Bab el-Foutouh, "" The Conquest Gate"" marks the northern limit of Fatimid old Cairo. Rebuilt in 1087, it is highly defensive in nature owing to the turbulent climate in 11th Century Cairo, which saw a number of popular uprisings. An imposing gate, it has two semicircular towers with low-slung arches made of heavy blocks of stone anchored within the ramparts. The sizeable passage through the gate (4.85m wide by 6.79m high) has a shallow dome. BAB EL NASR Bab el-Nasr, ""The Victory Gate"" is on the northern wall of the Fatimid fortress in Cairo. Its two enormous rectangular towers were rebuilt in 1087 after a long period of popular uprisings. On this highly attractive frontal image signed Protain, one can admire the sculpted shields in the corners of the gate and on the towers, symbolizing victory and protection against invaders. After taking Cairo, Napoleon named all the towers along the wall of the fortress after the officers assigned to guard them. Their names are still engraved on the upper parts of the walls of the gate. SULTAN HASSAN MOSQUEThe massive architectural complex constructed by Sultan Hassan at the foot of the citadel in Cairo was built in the ostentatious style so characteristic of Mameluk architecture. Completed in 1356, the Sultan Hassan Mosque has a monumental gate and a 57m high minaret. This group of buildings, comprising a mausoleum that was never put to use, was strategically built on the site of a square that saw the start of a number of popular uprisings. The mosque was heavily inspired by Iranian models. Philae This plate is taken from a set of engravings dedicated to the Temple of Isis on the island of Philae. The final bastion of the worship of the ancient Egyptian gods, the temple of Isis was the last pagan temple to be in use before it was closed in the 6th century A.D. under Justinian. Construction on the temple began under the Ptolemies, a period of growth for the Isis cult. Isis was the sister and wife of Osiris and mother to Horus. Kom Ombo (Ombos) The Kom Ombo site, 40 kilometers from Aswan, is home to one of the best preserved ancient Egyptian temples, dedicated to Sobek, a crocodile god and Haroeris, a form of Horus. Built in the Ptolemaic era, it was actually founded during the XVIIIth Dynasty. Its massive Composite capitals and highly accomplished reliefs are captured accurately by the draughtsmen of the Institut d'Egypte, Jollois, Balzac and Cécile. The dual aspect of its design, intended for worship of two different divine triads - those of Sobek and Haroeris - is reproduced in great detail by the architects and engineers of the Egyptian campaign through this set of prints, which preceded the first archeological digs in the building by Auguste Mariette in 1828. Edfu This plate is taken from a series of views of the great temple at Edfu and the various buildings in its cultic complex. The temple of Horus, a jewel of Ptolemaic architecture and exceptionally well-preserved, is made up of a majestic entry gate and a hypostyle chamber, which are both extensively documented thanks to the engravings by the experts of the Institut d'Egypte. Begun in 237 BC by Ptolemy III and completed 180 years later under Tiberius, it proved an extraordinary sight for the draughtsmen come to explore the left bank of the Nile. Esna and its environs The town of Esna (Esneh or Latopolis in Bonaparte's time), lies fifty kilometers to the south of Luxor. The experts from the Institut de l'Egypte documented their discovery of its temple, dedicated to Khnum, one of the gods of creation who worked with clay and had the head of a ram; he controlled the life-giving flooding of the Nile, the source of fertility. He was associated with Nebt-uu, the mistress of the countryside and Menhyt, a goddess with the head of a lion. This temple, partially rebuilt during the Ptolemaic era, was added to right up to the reign of Tiberius. The draughtsmen also produced a number of views of the neighboring temples, most notably the less well-preserved temple of Contra-Latopolis to the north of Esna. Thebes Medinet-Habu Close to Thebes and Luxor on the left bank of the Nile, the city of Medinet-Habu is home to one of the most attractive temples of New Kingdom period Egypt, the mortuary temple of Ramses III. This dates from the middle of the 12th century BC, and is based on the famous Ramesseum of his predecessor, which it surpasses in size. A funerary temple celebrating the Pharaoh, the experts of the Institut d'Egypte set about creating cross-sections, plans and elevations, and most especially capturing its numerous bas-reliefs. The architects and draughtsmen also focused on the Royal Palace and its internal peristyle within the 12-metre fortress that encircles the religious complex, including the Temple of Amon, located at the south-east of the site and begun in the reign of Hatshepsut at the end of the 15th Century BC. Memnonium The Memnonium, a name used by visitors to the Valley of the Kings from 1750 to 1850, refers to a set of three royal buildings constructed during the New Kingdom: the Ramesseum, the Temple of Amenhotep III and the Temple of Sethi I. The draughtsmen and architects of Bonaparte's Institut, sent out on expedition across Upper Egypt from 1799 documented Thebes and the Valley of the Kings, even attempting to reconstruct some of the buildings on the basis of descriptions by Classical authors. The tomb of Ozymandias (one of the numerous names of Ramses II), in a very poor state, thus became the subject of very thorough study and an attempt to fill in its missing bits on the basis of the writings of Diodurus Siculus. This Greek historian of the Augustine period stayed in the valley of the Nile from 60-57 BC and his visit to the tomb of Ramses II is recounted in his monumental Bibliotheca Historica (Book I, XLVII-XLIX).At the same time, the experts also made extremely detailed studies and views of the Colossi of Memnon, all that remains of a huge memorial temple to Amenhotep III built on the road to the necropolis in the Valley of the Kings. These colossi were located at the entrance to the temple in front of a preliminary pylon made of brick. These two statues represent King Amenhotep III framed to the right by the great Royal Consort Tiy and to the left by the Queen Mother Mutemwiya. Hypogea and Biban el Moluk This plate is taken from a series of engravings of the hypogea in the Valley of the Kings (Biban el Moluk) in Thebes. Some are in color to show the vivid hues of the sarcophaguses and mysterious murals whose secret had yet to be broken by Jean-François Champollion. The draughtsmen of the Institut, including the famous Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, sent by Napoleon to cover Upper Egypt in 1799, capture with élan the royal mummies and the artifacts that accompanied the dead in their journey to the netherworld: urns, furniture, weapons, idols and the mummies of numerous mammals and birds. Karnak This plate is from a set on the Great Temple at Karnak, built during the New Kingdom at the time of Ramses III. This enormous complex is divided into three parts and is dedicated to the Theban Triad of gods, Amun, Mut and Khonsu. Its sculptures, internal bas-reliefs and sunken reliefs on the external facades are intricately captured by the engineers of the Institut, while the architects worked out the complex groundplan of this edifice, which was divided into facades, colonnaded halls and sacral spaces reserved for the temple priests. The alley of the monumental sphinx which links the site to the Luxor site was also the subject of a plate by Lepère, an architect from the Institut who took part in the expedition across Upper Egypt. Dendera The experts executed views and drawings of the temples of Dendera (or Tentyra), a city in Upper Egypt 60km to the north of Luxor. They have captured, with an exceptional degree of graphic artistry, the thick, round nature of the sculpted reliefs of the great Temple of Hathor, built under the Ptolemies in the first half of the 1st century BC. They also produced interesting views of the neighboring temples as well as a selection of reliefs of the ""Dendera Zodiac"", a chapel dedicated to Osiris and located beneath the temple of Hathor. Its famous astronomical relief was discovered by the French General Desaix - stationed in Upper Egypt by Bonaparte from 1798 - and taken back to France in 1821 by Claude Lelorrain; it is now on display in the Louvre. Another astronomical and cosmological relief on the ceiling of the hypostyle hall of the Temple of Hathor is the subject of a magnificent plate by Jollois and Devilliers. This covers seven soffit coffers of the ceiling and is an immense allegorical image showing several levels of consciousness: that of cosmogony, the constellations and their effect on the Earth, the creation of Man, and the Nomes of Egypt, symbolized by 21 pairs of wings topped with the red crown of Lower Egypt and the white tiara of Upper Egypt. The Pyramids at Memphis The Giza Plateau, near Memphis, is home to three of the most famous Ancient Egyptian Pyramids, the tombs of Cheops, Khafre and Menkaure, Pharaohs of the 4th Dynasty (2620-2500 BC). The experts of the Institut, hurrying to Memphis, explored the plateau and made numerous views of these majestic pyramids, towering over inhabitants and mounted figures. They also made minutely detailed views of the epigraphs on the tombs adjacent to the pyramids, as well as views of the Sphinx of Gaza near the Pyramid of Khafre. Views of Alexandria A plate taken from a set of view of Alexandria as it was found by Napoleon's army in June 1798. Embarking in Toulon on the 14th May, his troops disembarked at Alexandria a month later and explored this port city before heading towards Cairo to take the capital. " Imprimerie Impériale Paris _1809-1829 54x71cm une feuille‎

‎"DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE. Antinoë. Vue et détails de la colonne d'Alexandre Sévère. Fragment d'une statue d'Antinoüs. (ANTIQUITES, volume IV, planche 59)"‎

‎" - Imprimerie Impériale, Paris 1809-1829, 71x54cm, une feuille. - Gravure originale à l'eau-forte in plano, non rognée, extraite de l'édition dite « Impériale » de la Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand. Réalisée entre février 1802 et 1829 sur ordre de Napoléon Bonaparte et publiée à partir de 1809 [en réalité 1810], elle fut tirée à 1000 exemplaires sur Vergé filigrané « Égypte ancienne et moderne » et offerte aux institutions. Légère trace de pli en coin supérieur droit, sinon excellent état de fraîcheur et de conservation. Volume ANTIQUITES, IV : Ces gravures fournissent à Jean-François Champollion une documentation épigraphique fondamentale pour le déchiffrage des hiéroglyphes et inspirent une lignée d'archéologues comme Mariette, Maspero et Carter qui donnent un nouveau visage à l'Egypte ancienne. Elles suscitent un engouement tel qu'elles donnent naissance au phénomène de l'égyptomanie et à l'orientalisme de Delacroix, Fromentin, Marilhat, Decamps mais aussi Théophile Gautier... Financiers, politiciens, marchands, et fouilleurs de tous ordres se presseront sur les rives du Nil en quête de bonnes affaires à la suite de cette redécouverte de l'Egypte. A l'origine de l'égyptologie, ces planches connaîtront une postérité immense. LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, édition IMPERIALE (1809-1829) : La Description de l'Egypte est un des chefs d'uvre de l'édition française et le point de départ d'une nouvelle science : l'égyptologie. Titanesque exposé de l'Egypte au temps des conquêtes de Bonaparte entre 1798 et 1799, elle est répartie en 23 volumes dont 13 volumes de gravures rassemblant près de 1000 planches en noir et 72 en couleur. Les 6 volumes de planches intitulées Antiquités sont consacrés aux splendeurs de l'Egypte pharaonique. L'Histoire naturelle est répartie en 3 volumes de gravures. Un volume est consacré aux Cartes géographiques et topographiques tandis que les 3 volumes : Etat Moderne dressent un portrait saisissant de l'Egypte copte et islamique telle qu'elle était vue par les armées d'Orient de Bonaparte. La « campagne d'Egypte », désastre militaire, dévoile à travers les gravures de la Description de l'Egypte la réussite scientifique qu'elle est devenue, grâce aux quelques 167 savants membres de la Commission des sciences et des arts de l'Institut d'Egypte qui suivaient l'armée de Napoléon. L'Institut a réuni en Egypte le mathématicien Monge, le chimiste Berthollet, le naturaliste Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ainsi que de nombreux artistes, ingénieurs, architectes, médecins... Ils eurent la charge de redécouvrir l'Egypte moderne et antique, d'en montrer les richesses naturelles, et le savoir-faire de ses habitants. L'édition originale, dite « Impériale », de la Description de l'Egypte fut réalisée sur quatre formats de grande taille, deux d'entre eux spécialement créés pour elle et baptisés formats « Moyen-Egypte » et « Grand-Egypte ». On construisit une presse spécifique pour son impression, qui s'étala sur vingt ans, entre 1809 et 1829. L'édition Impériale s'avéra si populaire qu'une deuxième édition en 37 volumes entièrement en noir et sans le filigrane « Egypte ancienne et moderne », dite édition « Panckoucke », fut publiée à partir de 1821 par l'imprimerie C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). La réalisation de ce monument d'érudition doit beaucoup au baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrateur, diplomate, collectionneur et par la suite directeur du musée Napoléon du Louvre qui accompagna Napoléon en Egypte avec de nombreux autres savants mais décida seul de s'aventurer dans le Sud du pays, alors que les autres scientifiques conviés restaient confinés dans la région du Caire. Les fabuleux croquis rapportés par Denon lors de sa romanesque chevauchée donnèrent l'idée à Bonaparte d'y envoyer les autres membres de l'Institut et ainsi dresser un portrait fidèle et complet du territoire. A la suite de Denon, ce sont donc les plus grands scientifiques et artistes français qui s'aventurèrent le long du Nil jusqu'en Nubie. Parmi eux, le peintre au muséum d'histoire naturelle H.J. Redouté (frère de Pierre-Joseph Redouté, auteur des Roses), le minéralogiste Dolomieu, le dessinateur Joly, et les ingénieurs Fourier et Costaz, chargés de l'étude scientifique des vestiges antiques de Haute-Egypte. Sans doute pour la première fois réunie dans une telle expédition, l'élite scientifique et artistique française, composée de plus de 160 « savants » dont près de 50 artistes, étudie méthodiquement l'Egypte pendant trois ans. Ils réalisent alors, sous l'égide et à la gloire de Napoléon, la plus vaste analyse historique, géographique, scientifique, économique et ethnologique jamais réalisée sur un pays. Mais ce sont peut-être les gravures qui constituèrent le défi technique majeur de cette Description de l'Egypte, comme en témoigne Yves Laissus, commissaire de l'exposition organisée en 2009 par la RMN et le Musée de l'Armée aux Invalides : « L'illustration, 836 planches dont une soixantaine en couleurs, gravées à l'eau forte et au burin dans des formats jusqu'alors inusités (le plus grand couvre près d'un mètre carré), a nécessité la construction de nouvelles formes et cuves pour la fabrication du papier, justifié l'invention, par Nicolas Conté, d'une machine destinée à alléger la besogne des graveurs, et exigé la réalisation de nouvelles presses capables d'imprimer ces images immenses. Certaines d'entre elles ont demandé deux années de travail. Près de 200 graveurs ont reproduit sur le cuivre les uvres de 62 dessinateurs dont 46 ont participé à l'expédition. » Rare et superbe gravure originale d'une exceptionnelle facture et qualité graphique, témoignage d'une des plus ambitieuses aventures éditoriales françaises. - Photos sur www.Edition-originale.com - [AUTOMATIC ENGLISH TRANSLATION FOLLOWS] Original, unshaved, full-page etching from the ""Imperial edition"" of the Description de l'Égypte, or 'Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand [A Collection of the observations and research carried out in Egypt during the French expedition, published on the orders of his Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great]'. Produced between February 1802 and 1830 on the orders of Naopleon Bonaparte and published between 1809 and 1828, 1,000 copies were printed and distributed to institutions, on vergé paper with an 'Égypte ancienne et moderne' watermark, visible when held up to the light. Light marginal spotting not touching image, otherwise in very fresh, fine condition. An engraving from the Description de l'Egypte, one of the masterpieces of French printing and the birth of a new field: Egyptology. A gigantic survey of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests in 1798 and 1799, the work is divided into 13 volumes of engravings making up 892 plates, of which 72 colored, as well as presenting the splendors of the Egypt of the Pharaohs in 9 volumes. The other volumes discuss natural history and present a fascinating portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's Eastern Armies. The 'Egyptian campaign', militarily a disaster, demonstrates, through the engravings of the Description d'Egypte, the scientific success it nonetheless became thanks to the 167 expert members of the Commission of the Sciences and Arts of the Institut d'Egypte [Egyptian Institute] who followed Napoleon's army. The Institut gathered together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects and doctors. They were tasked with re-discovering modern and ancient Egypt and displaying its natural treasures as well as the know-how of its inhabitants. This edition, the so-called ""Imperial"" edition of the plates for the Description de l'Egypte was printed in four large formats, two of which were specially created for it and christened ""Moyen-Egypte"" and ""Grand-Egypte"". A special press was built to print it, the process extending over 20 years, from 1809 to 1829. The ""Imperial"" edition proved so popular that a second edition, this time in black and white and without the ""Egypte ancienne et moderne"" watermark - known as the ""Royal Edition"" - was published during the Restoration by the printing house of C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). The engravings of the Description d'Egypte owe a great deal to Baron Dominique-Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later Director of the Musée Napoléon (the Louvre). His exploration of the South of Egypt gave Bonaparte the idea of sending the experts of the Institut there, thus creating a faithful and complete portrait of the area. This was the research gathered together from 1802 in the mammoth Description de L'Egypte. Denon embarked on this story of archeological exploration at the age of 51, reaching first Alexandria and then Cairo before exploring Upper Egypt. Along with the members of the Institut d'Egypte, the Natural History Museum's painter H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of Roses), the mineralogist Dolomiue, and the draughtsman Joly, Denon then explored the Nile Delta and Lower Egypt. When, however, he joined the 21st Light Infantry Regiment as it marched across Upper Egypt in pursuit of the retreating Mameluks in November 1798, he found himself the only civilian. In the very midst of the battle itself, he reeled off sketches of the works of art that peppered his path right up to the threshold of the Sudan. He said that he had crossed ""a country that is, apart from its name, entirely unknown to Europeans, and therefore everything was worth describing"" (Voyages dans la Basse et la Haute Egypte pendant les campagnes de Bonaparte en 1798 et 1799, 1817). On his return to Cairo, the great general, spellbound by Denon's accounts and drawings ordered two commissions to be set up, led by the engineers Fourier and Costaz. They were tasked with the scientific study of the ancient remains in Upper Egypt; research that proved a significant contribution to the monumental Description d'Egypte, from which this plate is taken. ANCIENT EGYPTThese engravings therefore represent a unique body of material that contributed to Jean-François Champollion's deciphering of hieroglyphics, and which mark the beginning of the line of Mariette, Maspero and Carter, who would reshape the face of Ancient Egypt. They also started a craze that gave birth to the phenomenon of Egyptomania and the Orientalism of Delacroix, Fromentin, Marilhat, Decamps and Théophile Gautier. Financiers, politicians, merchants and all kinds of treasure-hunters made their way to the banks of the Nile in search of riches, following this rediscovery of Egypt. The originators of Egyptology, these plates were to have a hugely influential afterlife. NATURAL HISTORYThese engravings show the scientific genius of the French experts then working on the ground in Egypt, laying the foundations for its becoming a French colony. This colonizing project, which had been mooted since the reign of Louis XIV, was now accompanied - with Bonaparte's arrival - by an in-depth study of the country's fauna and flora thanks to the work of the most eminent naturalists, mineralogists, and entomologists of the day. The Description de l'Egypte shows all of this immense scientific undertaking through its engravings, which were done after drawings by members of the Academy of Science, including Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hillaire, Alire Raffenau-Delile and Henri-Joseph Redouté. In the words of Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ""We have gathered the material for the greatest work that a nation could hope to undertake. In mourning the fate of so many brave soldiers who - after so many glorious exploits - fell in Egypt, we shall be able to console ourselves that such precious works came into being."" MODERN EGYPTThe genius of the experts of the Institut d'Egypte is revealed in the plates of the section known as ""Modern Egypte"". Architecture, industry, social organization, conditions of health, irrigation, music, and crafts, are all presented with exceptional precision and powers of description. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie runs through the work of the draughtsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompanied the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, undertaking to produce a portrait of the local population that was imbued with both beauty and respect. Wealthy Pashas and simple artisan potters are sensitively represented here, going about their business in beautifully composed images that nonetheless do not fall into the traps of idealism or caricature. ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE (the ""Cairo"" plates) The set of engravings to which this plate belongs constitutes one of the first complete studies of the monuments of Islamic Egypt in Cairo, bringing together maps, sections and elevations of mosques, mausoleums and fortifications, from the Tulunid era in the 9th century up to the Mameluk constructions contemporaneous with the arrival of the Bonapartist troops. At the same time, the architects and engineers of the Institut d'Egypte also made a big series of plates dedicated to civilian housing and edifices in Cairo, including both grander and more modest constructions, providing a precious picture of life in Cairo at the end of the 19th century. BAB AL FOUTOUH Bab el-Foutouh, "" The Conquest Gate"" marks the northern limit of Fatimid old Cairo. Rebuilt in 1087, it is highly defensive in nature owing to the turbulent climate in 11th Century Cairo, which saw a number of popular uprisings. An imposing gate, it has two semicircular towers with low-slung arches made of heavy blocks of stone anchored within the ramparts. The sizeable passage through the gate (4.85m wide by 6.79m high) has a shallow dome. BAB EL NASR Bab el-Nasr, ""The Victory Gate"" is on the northern wall of the Fatimid fortress in Cairo. Its two enormous rectangular towers were rebuilt in 1087 after a long period of popular uprisings. On this highly attractive frontal image signed Protain, one can admire the sculpted shields in the corners of the gate and on the towers, symbolizing victory and protection against invaders. After taking Cairo, Napoleon named all the towers along the wall of the fortress after the officers assigned to guard them. Their names are still engraved on the upper parts of the walls of the gate. SULTAN HASSAN MOSQUEThe massive architectural complex constructed by Sultan Hassan at the foot of the citadel in Cairo was built in the ostentatious style so characteristic of Mameluk architecture. Completed in 1356, the Sultan Hassan Mosque has a monumental gate and a 57m high minaret. This group of buildings, comprising a mausoleum that was never put to use, was strategically built on the site of a square that saw the start of a number of popular uprisings. The mosque was heavily inspired by Iranian models. Philae This plate is taken from a set of engravings dedicated to the Temple of Isis on the island of Philae. The final bastion of the worship of the ancient Egyptian gods, the temple of Isis was the last pagan temple to be in use before it was closed in the 6th century A.D. under Justinian. Construction on the temple began under the Ptolemies, a period of growth for the Isis cult. Isis was the sister and wife of Osiris and mother to Horus. Kom Ombo (Ombos) The Kom Ombo site, 40 kilometers from Aswan, is home to one of the best preserved ancient Egyptian temples, dedicated to Sobek, a crocodile god and Haroeris, a form of Horus. Built in the Ptolemaic era, it was actually founded during the XVIIIth Dynasty. Its massive Composite capitals and highly accomplished reliefs are captured accurately by the draughtsmen of the Institut d'Egypte, Jollois, Balzac and Cécile. The dual aspect of its design, intended for worship of two different divine triads - those of Sobek and Haroeris - is reproduced in great detail by the architects and engineers of the Egyptian campaign through this set of prints, which preceded the first archeological digs in the building by Auguste Mariette in 1828. Edfu This plate is taken from a series of views of the great temple at Edfu and the various buildings in its cultic complex. The temple of Horus, a jewel of Ptolemaic architecture and exceptionally well-preserved, is made up of a majestic entry gate and a hypostyle chamber, which are both extensively documented thanks to the engravings by the experts of the Institut d'Egypte. Begun in 237 BC by Ptolemy III and completed 180 years later under Tiberius, it proved an extraordinary sight for the draughtsmen come to explore the left bank of the Nile. Esna and its environs The town of Esna (Esneh or Latopolis in Bonaparte's time), lies fifty kilometers to the south of Luxor. The experts from the Institut de l'Egypte documented their discovery of its temple, dedicated to Khnum, one of the gods of creation who worked with clay and had the head of a ram; he controlled the life-giving flooding of the Nile, the source of fertility. He was associated with Nebt-uu, the mistress of the countryside and Menhyt, a goddess with the head of a lion. This temple, partially rebuilt during the Ptolemaic era, was added to right up to the reign of Tiberius. The draughtsmen also produced a number of views of the neighboring temples, most notably the less well-preserved temple of Contra-Latopolis to the north of Esna. Thebes Medinet-Habu Close to Thebes and Luxor on the left bank of the Nile, the city of Medinet-Habu is home to one of the most attractive temples of New Kingdom period Egypt, the mortuary temple of Ramses III. This dates from the middle of the 12th century BC, and is based on the famous Ramesseum of his predecessor, which it surpasses in size. A funerary temple celebrating the Pharaoh, the experts of the Institut d'Egypte set about creating cross-sections, plans and elevations, and most especially capturing its numerous bas-reliefs. The architects and draughtsmen also focused on the Royal Palace and its internal peristyle within the 12-metre fortress that encircles the religious complex, including the Temple of Amon, located at the south-east of the site and begun in the reign of Hatshepsut at the end of the 15th Century BC. Memnonium The Memnonium, a name used by visitors to the Valley of the Kings from 1750 to 1850, refers to a set of three royal buildings constructed during the New Kingdom: the Ramesseum, the Temple of Amenhotep III and the Temple of Sethi I. The draughtsmen and architects of Bonaparte's Institut, sent out on expedition across Upper Egypt from 1799 documented Thebes and the Valley of the Kings, even attempting to reconstruct some of the buildings on the basis of descriptions by Classical authors. The tomb of Ozymandias (one of the numerous names of Ramses II), in a very poor state, thus became the subject of very thorough study and an attempt to fill in its missing bits on the basis of the writings of Diodurus Siculus. This Greek historian of the Augustine period stayed in the valley of the Nile from 60-57 BC and his visit to the tomb of Ramses II is recounted in his monumental Bibliotheca Historica (Book I, XLVII-XLIX).At the same time, the experts also made extremely detailed studies and views of the Colossi of Memnon, all that remains of a huge memorial temple to Amenhotep III built on the road to the necropolis in the Valley of the Kings. These colossi were located at the entrance to the temple in front of a preliminary pylon made of brick. These two statues represent King Amenhotep III framed to the right by the great Royal Consort Tiy and to the left by the Queen Mother Mutemwiya. Hypogea and Biban el Moluk This plate is taken from a series of engravings of the hypogea in the Valley of the Kings (Biban el Moluk) in Thebes. Some are in color to show the vivid hues of the sarcophaguses and mysterious murals whose secret had yet to be broken by Jean-François Champollion. The draughtsmen of the Institut, including the famous Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, sent by Napoleon to cover Upper Egypt in 1799, capture with élan the royal mummies and the artifacts that accompanied the dead in their journey to the netherworld: urns, furniture, weapons, idols and the mummies of numerous mammals and birds. Karnak This plate is from a set on the Great Temple at Karnak, built during the New Kingdom at the time of Ramses III. This enormous complex is divided into three parts and is dedicated to the Theban Triad of gods, Amun, Mut and Khonsu. Its sculptures, internal bas-reliefs and sunken reliefs on the external facades are intricately captured by the engineers of the Institut, while the architects worked out the complex groundplan of this edifice, which was divided into facades, colonnaded halls and sacral spaces reserved for the temple priests. The alley of the monumental sphinx which links the site to the Luxor site was also the subject of a plate by Lepère, an architect from the Institut who took part in the expedition across Upper Egypt. Dendera The experts executed views and drawings of the temples of Dendera (or Tentyra), a city in Upper Egypt 60km to the north of Luxor. They have captured, with an exceptional degree of graphic artistry, the thick, round nature of the sculpted reliefs of the great Temple of Hathor, built under the Ptolemies in the first half of the 1st century BC. They also produced interesting views of the neighboring temples as well as a selection of reliefs of the ""Dendera Zodiac"", a chapel dedicated to Osiris and located beneath the temple of Hathor. Its famous astronomical relief was discovered by the French General Desaix - stationed in Upper Egypt by Bonaparte from 1798 - and taken back to France in 1821 by Claude Lelorrain; it is now on display in the Louvre. Another astronomical and cosmological relief on the ceiling of the hypostyle hall of the Temple of Hathor is the subject of a magnificent plate by Jollois and Devilliers. This covers seven soffit coffers of the ceiling and is an immense allegorical image showing several levels of consciousness: that of cosmogony, the constellations and their effect on the Earth, the creation of Man, and the Nomes of Egypt, symbolized by 21 pairs of wings topped with the red crown of Lower Egypt and the white tiara of Upper Egypt. The Pyramids at Memphis The Giza Plateau, near Memphis, is home to three of the most famous Ancient Egyptian Pyramids, the tombs of Cheops, Khafre and Menkaure, Pharaohs of the 4th Dynasty (2620-2500 BC). The experts of the Institut, hurrying to Memphis, explored the plateau and made numerous views of these majestic pyramids, towering over inhabitants and mounted figures. They also made minutely detailed views of the epigraphs on the tombs adjacent to the pyramids, as well as views of the Sphinx of Gaza near the Pyramid of Khafre. Views of Alexandria A plate taken from a set of view of Alexandria as it was found by Napoleon's army in June 1798. Embarking in Toulon on the 14th May, his troops disembarked at Alexandria a month later and explored this port city before heading towards Cairo to take the capital. " Imprimerie Impériale Paris _1809-1829 71x54cm une feuille‎

‎"DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE. Koum Omboû (Ombos). Vue du grand temple. (ANTIQUITES, volume I, planche 40)"‎

‎" - Imprimerie Impériale, Paris 1809-1829, 71x54cm, une feuille. - Gravure originale à l'eau-forte in plano, non rognée, extraite de l'édition dite « Impériale » de la Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand. Réalisée entre février 1802 et 1829 sur ordre de Napoléon Bonaparte et publiée à partir de 1809 [en réalité 1810], elle fut tirée à 1000 exemplaires sur Vergé filigrané « Égypte ancienne et moderne » et offerte aux institutions. Légères et marginales rousseurs sans aucune atteinte à la gravure, sinon très bel état de fraîcheur et de conservation. KOUM OMBOS : Le site de Koum Ombos, à 40 kilomètres d'Assouan, abrite un des temples les mieux conservés de l'Egypte ancienne, dédié à Sobek, dieu crocodile et Haroëris, forme d'Horus. Construit à l'époque ptolémaïque, sa fondation remonte quant à elle à la XVIIIe dynastie. Ses chapiteaux composites massifs et ses reliefs d'une grande qualité d'exécution sont relevés avec précision par les dessinateurs de l'Institut d'Egypte Jollois, Balzac et Cécile. La conception bipartite de son plan, destiné au culte de deux triades divines différentes, celles de Sobek et Haroëris, est rapportée minutieusement par les architectes et ingénieurs de la campagne d'Egypte à travers cet ensemble de gravures, avant-même les premières fouilles du bâtiment par Auguste Mariette en 1828. Volume ANTIQUITES, I : Ces gravures fournissent à Jean-François Champollion une documentation épigraphique fondamentale pour le déchiffrage des hiéroglyphes et inspirent une lignée d'archéologues comme Mariette, Maspero et Carter qui donnent un nouveau visage à l'Egypte ancienne. Elles suscitent un engouement tel qu'elles donnent naissance au phénomène de l'égyptomanie et à l'orientalisme de Delacroix, Fromentin, Marilhat, Decamps mais aussi Théophile Gautier... Financiers, politiciens, marchands, et fouilleurs de tous ordres se presseront sur les rives du Nil en quête de bonnes affaires à la suite de cette redécouverte de l'Egypte. A l'origine de l'égyptologie, ces planches connaîtront une postérité immense. LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, édition IMPERIALE (1809-1829) : La Description de l'Egypte est un des chefs d'uvre de l'édition française et le point de départ d'une nouvelle science : l'égyptologie. Titanesque exposé de l'Egypte au temps des conquêtes de Bonaparte entre 1798 et 1799, elle est répartie en 23 volumes dont 13 volumes de gravures rassemblant près de 1000 planches en noir et 72 en couleur. Les 6 volumes de planches intitulées Antiquités sont consacrés aux splendeurs de l'Egypte pharaonique. L'Histoire naturelle est répartie en 3 volumes de gravures. Un volume est consacré aux Cartes géographiques et topographiques tandis que les 3 volumes : Etat Moderne dressent un portrait saisissant de l'Egypte copte et islamique telle qu'elle était vue par les armées d'Orient de Bonaparte. La « campagne d'Egypte », désastre militaire, dévoile à travers les gravures de la Description de l'Egypte la réussite scientifique qu'elle est devenue, grâce aux quelques 167 savants membres de la Commission des sciences et des arts de l'Institut d'Egypte qui suivaient l'armée de Napoléon. L'Institut a réuni en Egypte le mathématicien Monge, le chimiste Berthollet, le naturaliste Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ainsi que de nombreux artistes, ingénieurs, architectes, médecins... Ils eurent la charge de redécouvrir l'Egypte moderne et antique, d'en montrer les richesses naturelles, et le savoir-faire de ses habitants. L'édition originale, dite « Impériale », de la Description de l'Egypte fut réalisée sur quatre formats de grande taille, deux d'entre eux spécialement créés pour elle et baptisés formats « Moyen-Egypte » et « Grand-Egypte ». On construisit une presse spécifique pour son impression, qui s'étala sur vingt ans, entre 1809 et 1829. L'édition Impériale s'avéra si populaire qu'une deuxième édition en 37 volumes entièrement en noir et sans le filigrane « Egypte ancienne et moderne », dite édition « Panckoucke », fut publiée à partir de 1821 par l'imprimerie C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). La réalisation de ce monument d'érudition doit beaucoup au baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrateur, diplomate, collectionneur et par la suite directeur du musée Napoléon du Louvre qui accompagna Napoléon en Egypte avec de nombreux autres savants mais décida seul de s'aventurer dans le Sud du pays, alors que les autres scientifiques conviés restaient confinés dans la région du Caire. Les fabuleux croquis rapportés par Denon lors de sa romanesque chevauchée donnèrent l'idée à Bonaparte d'y envoyer les autres membres de l'Institut et ainsi dresser un portrait fidèle et complet du territoire. A la suite de Denon, ce sont donc les plus grands scientifiques et artistes français qui s'aventurèrent le long du Nil jusqu'en Nubie. Parmi eux, le peintre au muséum d'histoire naturelle H.J. Redouté (frère de Pierre-Joseph Redouté, auteur des Roses), le minéralogiste Dolomieu, le dessinateur Joly, et les ingénieurs Fourier et Costaz, chargés de l'étude scientifique des vestiges antiques de Haute-Egypte. Sans doute pour la première fois réunie dans une telle expédition, l'élite scientifique et artistique française, composée de plus de 160 « savants » dont près de 50 artistes, étudie méthodiquement l'Egypte pendant trois ans. Ils réalisent alors, sous l'égide et à la gloire de Napoléon, la plus vaste analyse historique, géographique, scientifique, économique et ethnologique jamais réalisée sur un pays. Mais ce sont peut-être les gravures qui constituèrent le défi technique majeur de cette Description de l'Egypte, comme en témoigne Yves Laissus, commissaire de l'exposition organisée en 2009 par la RMN et le Musée de l'Armée aux Invalides : « L'illustration, 836 planches dont une soixantaine en couleurs, gravées à l'eau forte et au burin dans des formats jusqu'alors inusités (le plus grand couvre près d'un mètre carré), a nécessité la construction de nouvelles formes et cuves pour la fabrication du papier, justifié l'invention, par Nicolas Conté, d'une machine destinée à alléger la besogne des graveurs, et exigé la réalisation de nouvelles presses capables d'imprimer ces images immenses. Certaines d'entre elles ont demandé deux années de travail. Près de 200 graveurs ont reproduit sur le cuivre les uvres de 62 dessinateurs dont 46 ont participé à l'expédition. » Rare et superbe gravure originale d'une exceptionnelle facture et qualité graphique, témoignage d'une des plus ambitieuses aventures éditoriales françaises. - Photos sur www.Edition-originale.com - [AUTOMATIC ENGLISH TRANSLATION FOLLOWS] Original, unshaved, full-page etching from the ""Imperial edition"" of the Description de l'Égypte, or 'Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand [A Collection of the observations and research carried out in Egypt during the French expedition, published on the orders of his Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great]'. Produced between February 1802 and 1830 on the orders of Naopleon Bonaparte and published between 1809 and 1828, 1,000 copies were printed and distributed to institutions, on vergé paper with an 'Égypte ancienne et moderne' watermark, visible when held up to the light. Light marginal spotting not touching image, otherwise in very fresh, fine condition. An engraving from the Description de l'Egypte, one of the masterpieces of French printing and the birth of a new field: Egyptology. A gigantic survey of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests in 1798 and 1799, the work is divided into 13 volumes of engravings making up 892 plates, of which 72 colored, as well as presenting the splendors of the Egypt of the Pharaohs in 9 volumes. The other volumes discuss natural history and present a fascinating portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's Eastern Armies. The 'Egyptian campaign', militarily a disaster, demonstrates, through the engravings of the Description d'Egypte, the scientific success it nonetheless became thanks to the 167 expert members of the Commission of the Sciences and Arts of the Institut d'Egypte [Egyptian Institute] who followed Napoleon's army. The Institut gathered together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects and doctors. They were tasked with re-discovering modern and ancient Egypt and displaying its natural treasures as well as the know-how of its inhabitants. This edition, the so-called ""Imperial"" edition of the plates for the Description de l'Egypte was printed in four large formats, two of which were specially created for it and christened ""Moyen-Egypte"" and ""Grand-Egypte"". A special press was built to print it, the process extending over 20 years, from 1809 to 1829. The ""Imperial"" edition proved so popular that a second edition, this time in black and white and without the ""Egypte ancienne et moderne"" watermark - known as the ""Royal Edition"" - was published during the Restoration by the printing house of C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). The engravings of the Description d'Egypte owe a great deal to Baron Dominique-Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later Director of the Musée Napoléon (the Louvre). His exploration of the South of Egypt gave Bonaparte the idea of sending the experts of the Institut there, thus creating a faithful and complete portrait of the area. This was the research gathered together from 1802 in the mammoth Description de L'Egypte. Denon embarked on this story of archeological exploration at the age of 51, reaching first Alexandria and then Cairo before exploring Upper Egypt. Along with the members of the Institut d'Egypte, the Natural History Museum's painter H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of Roses), the mineralogist Dolomiue, and the draughtsman Joly, Denon then explored the Nile Delta and Lower Egypt. When, however, he joined the 21st Light Infantry Regiment as it marched across Upper Egypt in pursuit of the retreating Mameluks in November 1798, he found himself the only civilian. In the very midst of the battle itself, he reeled off sketches of the works of art that peppered his path right up to the threshold of the Sudan. He said that he had crossed ""a country that is, apart from its name, entirely unknown to Europeans, and therefore everything was worth describing"" (Voyages dans la Basse et la Haute Egypte pendant les campagnes de Bonaparte en 1798 et 1799, 1817). On his return to Cairo, the great general, spellbound by Denon's accounts and drawings ordered two commissions to be set up, led by the engineers Fourier and Costaz. They were tasked with the scientific study of the ancient remains in Upper Egypt; research that proved a significant contribution to the monumental Description d'Egypte, from which this plate is taken. ANCIENT EGYPTThese engravings therefore represent a unique body of material that contributed to Jean-François Champollion's deciphering of hieroglyphics, and which mark the beginning of the line of Mariette, Maspero and Carter, who would reshape the face of Ancient Egypt. They also started a craze that gave birth to the phenomenon of Egyptomania and the Orientalism of Delacroix, Fromentin, Marilhat, Decamps and Théophile Gautier. Financiers, politicians, merchants and all kinds of treasure-hunters made their way to the banks of the Nile in search of riches, following this rediscovery of Egypt. The originators of Egyptology, these plates were to have a hugely influential afterlife. NATURAL HISTORYThese engravings show the scientific genius of the French experts then working on the ground in Egypt, laying the foundations for its becoming a French colony. This colonizing project, which had been mooted since the reign of Louis XIV, was now accompanied - with Bonaparte's arrival - by an in-depth study of the country's fauna and flora thanks to the work of the most eminent naturalists, mineralogists, and entomologists of the day. The Description de l'Egypte shows all of this immense scientific undertaking through its engravings, which were done after drawings by members of the Academy of Science, including Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hillaire, Alire Raffenau-Delile and Henri-Joseph Redouté. In the words of Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ""We have gathered the material for the greatest work that a nation could hope to undertake. In mourning the fate of so many brave soldiers who - after so many glorious exploits - fell in Egypt, we shall be able to console ourselves that such precious works came into being."" MODERN EGYPTThe genius of the experts of the Institut d'Egypte is revealed in the plates of the section known as ""Modern Egypte"". Architecture, industry, social organization, conditions of health, irrigation, music, and crafts, are all presented with exceptional precision and powers of description. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie runs through the work of the draughtsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompanied the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, undertaking to produce a portrait of the local population that was imbued with both beauty and respect. Wealthy Pashas and simple artisan potters are sensitively represented here, going about their business in beautifully composed images that nonetheless do not fall into the traps of idealism or caricature. ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE (the ""Cairo"" plates) The set of engravings to which this plate belongs constitutes one of the first complete studies of the monuments of Islamic Egypt in Cairo, bringing together maps, sections and elevations of mosques, mausoleums and fortifications, from the Tulunid era in the 9th century up to the Mameluk constructions contemporaneous with the arrival of the Bonapartist troops. At the same time, the architects and engineers of the Institut d'Egypte also made a big series of plates dedicated to civilian housing and edifices in Cairo, including both grander and more modest constructions, providing a precious picture of life in Cairo at the end of the 19th century. BAB AL FOUTOUH Bab el-Foutouh, "" The Conquest Gate"" marks the northern limit of Fatimid old Cairo. Rebuilt in 1087, it is highly defensive in nature owing to the turbulent climate in 11th Century Cairo, which saw a number of popular uprisings. An imposing gate, it has two semicircular towers with low-slung arches made of heavy blocks of stone anchored within the ramparts. The sizeable passage through the gate (4.85m wide by 6.79m high) has a shallow dome. BAB EL NASR Bab el-Nasr, ""The Victory Gate"" is on the northern wall of the Fatimid fortress in Cairo. Its two enormous rectangular towers were rebuilt in 1087 after a long period of popular uprisings. On this highly attractive frontal image signed Protain, one can admire the sculpted shields in the corners of the gate and on the towers, symbolizing victory and protection against invaders. After taking Cairo, Napoleon named all the towers along the wall of the fortress after the officers assigned to guard them. Their names are still engraved on the upper parts of the walls of the gate. SULTAN HASSAN MOSQUEThe massive architectural complex constructed by Sultan Hassan at the foot of the citadel in Cairo was built in the ostentatious style so characteristic of Mameluk architecture. Completed in 1356, the Sultan Hassan Mosque has a monumental gate and a 57m high minaret. This group of buildings, comprising a mausoleum that was never put to use, was strategically built on the site of a square that saw the start of a number of popular uprisings. The mosque was heavily inspired by Iranian models. Philae This plate is taken from a set of engravings dedicated to the Temple of Isis on the island of Philae. The final bastion of the worship of the ancient Egyptian gods, the temple of Isis was the last pagan temple to be in use before it was closed in the 6th century A.D. under Justinian. Construction on the temple began under the Ptolemies, a period of growth for the Isis cult. Isis was the sister and wife of Osiris and mother to Horus. Kom Ombo (Ombos) The Kom Ombo site, 40 kilometers from Aswan, is home to one of the best preserved ancient Egyptian temples, dedicated to Sobek, a crocodile god and Haroeris, a form of Horus. Built in the Ptolemaic era, it was actually founded during the XVIIIth Dynasty. Its massive Composite capitals and highly accomplished reliefs are captured accurately by the draughtsmen of the Institut d'Egypte, Jollois, Balzac and Cécile. The dual aspect of its design, intended for worship of two different divine triads - those of Sobek and Haroeris - is reproduced in great detail by the architects and engineers of the Egyptian campaign through this set of prints, which preceded the first archeological digs in the building by Auguste Mariette in 1828. Edfu This plate is taken from a series of views of the great temple at Edfu and the various buildings in its cultic complex. The temple of Horus, a jewel of Ptolemaic architecture and exceptionally well-preserved, is made up of a majestic entry gate and a hypostyle chamber, which are both extensively documented thanks to the engravings by the experts of the Institut d'Egypte. Begun in 237 BC by Ptolemy III and completed 180 years later under Tiberius, it proved an extraordinary sight for the draughtsmen come to explore the left bank of the Nile. Esna and its environs The town of Esna (Esneh or Latopolis in Bonaparte's time), lies fifty kilometers to the south of Luxor. The experts from the Institut de l'Egypte documented their discovery of its temple, dedicated to Khnum, one of the gods of creation who worked with clay and had the head of a ram; he controlled the life-giving flooding of the Nile, the source of fertility. He was associated with Nebt-uu, the mistress of the countryside and Menhyt, a goddess with the head of a lion. This temple, partially rebuilt during the Ptolemaic era, was added to right up to the reign of Tiberius. The draughtsmen also produced a number of views of the neighboring temples, most notably the less well-preserved temple of Contra-Latopolis to the north of Esna. Thebes Medinet-Habu Close to Thebes and Luxor on the left bank of the Nile, the city of Medinet-Habu is home to one of the most attractive temples of New Kingdom period Egypt, the mortuary temple of Ramses III. This dates from the middle of the 12th century BC, and is based on the famous Ramesseum of his predecessor, which it surpasses in size. A funerary temple celebrating the Pharaoh, the experts of the Institut d'Egypte set about creating cross-sections, plans and elevations, and most especially capturing its numerous bas-reliefs. The architects and draughtsmen also focused on the Royal Palace and its internal peristyle within the 12-metre fortress that encircles the religious complex, including the Temple of Amon, located at the south-east of the site and begun in the reign of Hatshepsut at the end of the 15th Century BC. Memnonium The Memnonium, a name used by visitors to the Valley of the Kings from 1750 to 1850, refers to a set of three royal buildings constructed during the New Kingdom: the Ramesseum, the Temple of Amenhotep III and the Temple of Sethi I. The draughtsmen and architects of Bonaparte's Institut, sent out on expedition across Upper Egypt from 1799 documented Thebes and the Valley of the Kings, even attempting to reconstruct some of the buildings on the basis of descriptions by Classical authors. The tomb of Ozymandias (one of the numerous names of Ramses II), in a very poor state, thus became the subject of very thorough study and an attempt to fill in its missing bits on the basis of the writings of Diodurus Siculus. This Greek historian of the Augustine period stayed in the valley of the Nile from 60-57 BC and his visit to the tomb of Ramses II is recounted in his monumental Bibliotheca Historica (Book I, XLVII-XLIX).At the same time, the experts also made extremely detailed studies and views of the Colossi of Memnon, all that remains of a huge memorial temple to Amenhotep III built on the road to the necropolis in the Valley of the Kings. These colossi were located at the entrance to the temple in front of a preliminary pylon made of brick. These two statues represent King Amenhotep III framed to the right by the great Royal Consort Tiy and to the left by the Queen Mother Mutemwiya. Hypogea and Biban el Moluk This plate is taken from a series of engravings of the hypogea in the Valley of the Kings (Biban el Moluk) in Thebes. Some are in color to show the vivid hues of the sarcophaguses and mysterious murals whose secret had yet to be broken by Jean-François Champollion. The draughtsmen of the Institut, including the famous Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, sent by Napoleon to cover Upper Egypt in 1799, capture with élan the royal mummies and the artifacts that accompanied the dead in their journey to the netherworld: urns, furniture, weapons, idols and the mummies of numerous mammals and birds. Karnak This plate is from a set on the Great Temple at Karnak, built during the New Kingdom at the time of Ramses III. This enormous complex is divided into three parts and is dedicated to the Theban Triad of gods, Amun, Mut and Khonsu. Its sculptures, internal bas-reliefs and sunken reliefs on the external facades are intricately captured by the engineers of the Institut, while the architects worked out the complex groundplan of this edifice, which was divided into facades, colonnaded halls and sacral spaces reserved for the temple priests. The alley of the monumental sphinx which links the site to the Luxor site was also the subject of a plate by Lepère, an architect from the Institut who took part in the expedition across Upper Egypt. Dendera The experts executed views and drawings of the temples of Dendera (or Tentyra), a city in Upper Egypt 60km to the north of Luxor. They have captured, with an exceptional degree of graphic artistry, the thick, round nature of the sculpted reliefs of the great Temple of Hathor, built under the Ptolemies in the first half of the 1st century BC. They also produced interesting views of the neighboring temples as well as a selection of reliefs of the ""Dendera Zodiac"", a chapel dedicated to Osiris and located beneath the temple of Hathor. Its famous astronomical relief was discovered by the French General Desaix - stationed in Upper Egypt by Bonaparte from 1798 - and taken back to France in 1821 by Claude Lelorrain; it is now on display in the Louvre. Another astronomical and cosmological relief on the ceiling of the hypostyle hall of the Temple of Hathor is the subject of a magnificent plate by Jollois and Devilliers. This covers seven soffit coffers of the ceiling and is an immense allegorical image showing several levels of consciousness: that of cosmogony, the constellations and their effect on the Earth, the creation of Man, and the Nomes of Egypt, symbolized by 21 pairs of wings topped with the red crown of Lower Egypt and the white tiara of Upper Egypt. The Pyramids at Memphis The Giza Plateau, near Memphis, is home to three of the most famous Ancient Egyptian Pyramids, the tombs of Cheops, Khafre and Menkaure, Pharaohs of the 4th Dynasty (2620-2500 BC). The experts of the Institut, hurrying to Memphis, explored the plateau and made numerous views of these majestic pyramids, towering over inhabitants and mounted figures. They also made minutely detailed views of the epigraphs on the tombs adjacent to the pyramids, as well as views of the Sphinx of Gaza near the Pyramid of Khafre. Views of Alexandria A plate taken from a set of view of Alexandria as it was found by Napoleon's army in June 1798. Embarking in Toulon on the 14th May, his troops disembarked at Alexandria a month later and explored this port city before heading towards Cairo to take the capital. " Imprimerie Impériale Paris _1809-1829 71x54cm une feuille‎

‎"DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE. El Kab (Elethyia). Vue de l'intérieur de la grotte principale, Vue d'une ancienne carrière. (ANTIQUITES, volume I, planche 67)"‎

‎" - Imprimerie Impériale, Paris 1809-1829, 54x71cm, une feuille. - Gravure originale à l'eau-forte in plano, non rognée, extraite de l'édition dite « Impériale » de la Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand. Réalisée entre février 1802 et 1829 sur ordre de Napoléon Bonaparte et publiée à partir de 1809 [en réalité 1810], elle fut tirée à 1000 exemplaires sur Vergé filigrané « Égypte ancienne et moderne » et offerte aux institutions. Infimes et marginales piqûres sans aucune atteinte à la gravure, sinon excellent état de fraîcheur et de conservation. Volume ANTIQUITES, I : Ces gravures fournissent à Jean-François Champollion une documentation épigraphique fondamentale pour le déchiffrage des hiéroglyphes et inspirent une lignée d'archéologues comme Mariette, Maspero et Carter qui donnent un nouveau visage à l'Egypte ancienne. Elles suscitent un engouement tel qu'elles donnent naissance au phénomène de l'égyptomanie et à l'orientalisme de Delacroix, Fromentin, Marilhat, Decamps mais aussi Théophile Gautier... Financiers, politiciens, marchands, et fouilleurs de tous ordres se presseront sur les rives du Nil en quête de bonnes affaires à la suite de cette redécouverte de l'Egypte. A l'origine de l'égyptologie, ces planches connaîtront une postérité immense. LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, édition IMPERIALE (1809-1829) : La Description de l'Egypte est un des chefs d'uvre de l'édition française et le point de départ d'une nouvelle science : l'égyptologie. Titanesque exposé de l'Egypte au temps des conquêtes de Bonaparte entre 1798 et 1799, elle est répartie en 23 volumes dont 13 volumes de gravures rassemblant près de 1000 planches en noir et 72 en couleur. Les 6 volumes de planches intitulées Antiquités sont consacrés aux splendeurs de l'Egypte pharaonique. L'Histoire naturelle est répartie en 3 volumes de gravures. Un volume est consacré aux Cartes géographiques et topographiques tandis que les 3 volumes : Etat Moderne dressent un portrait saisissant de l'Egypte copte et islamique telle qu'elle était vue par les armées d'Orient de Bonaparte. La « campagne d'Egypte », désastre militaire, dévoile à travers les gravures de la Description de l'Egypte la réussite scientifique qu'elle est devenue, grâce aux quelques 167 savants membres de la Commission des sciences et des arts de l'Institut d'Egypte qui suivaient l'armée de Napoléon. L'Institut a réuni en Egypte le mathématicien Monge, le chimiste Berthollet, le naturaliste Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ainsi que de nombreux artistes, ingénieurs, architectes, médecins... Ils eurent la charge de redécouvrir l'Egypte moderne et antique, d'en montrer les richesses naturelles, et le savoir-faire de ses habitants. L'édition originale, dite « Impériale », de la Description de l'Egypte fut réalisée sur quatre formats de grande taille, deux d'entre eux spécialement créés pour elle et baptisés formats « Moyen-Egypte » et « Grand-Egypte ». On construisit une presse spécifique pour son impression, qui s'étala sur vingt ans, entre 1809 et 1829. L'édition Impériale s'avéra si populaire qu'une deuxième édition en 37 volumes entièrement en noir et sans le filigrane « Egypte ancienne et moderne », dite édition « Panckoucke », fut publiée à partir de 1821 par l'imprimerie C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). La réalisation de ce monument d'érudition doit beaucoup au baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrateur, diplomate, collectionneur et par la suite directeur du musée Napoléon du Louvre qui accompagna Napoléon en Egypte avec de nombreux autres savants mais décida seul de s'aventurer dans le Sud du pays, alors que les autres scientifiques conviés restaient confinés dans la région du Caire. Les fabuleux croquis rapportés par Denon lors de sa romanesque chevauchée donnèrent l'idée à Bonaparte d'y envoyer les autres membres de l'Institut et ainsi dresser un portrait fidèle et complet du territoire. A la suite de Denon, ce sont donc les plus grands scientifiques et artistes français qui s'aventurèrent le long du Nil jusqu'en Nubie. Parmi eux, le peintre au muséum d'histoire naturelle H.J. Redouté (frère de Pierre-Joseph Redouté, auteur des Roses), le minéralogiste Dolomieu, le dessinateur Joly, et les ingénieurs Fourier et Costaz, chargés de l'étude scientifique des vestiges antiques de Haute-Egypte. Sans doute pour la première fois réunie dans une telle expédition, l'élite scientifique et artistique française, composée de plus de 160 « savants » dont près de 50 artistes, étudie méthodiquement l'Egypte pendant trois ans. Ils réalisent alors, sous l'égide et à la gloire de Napoléon, la plus vaste analyse historique, géographique, scientifique, économique et ethnologique jamais réalisée sur un pays. Mais ce sont peut-être les gravures qui constituèrent le défi technique majeur de cette Description de l'Egypte, comme en témoigne Yves Laissus, commissaire de l'exposition organisée en 2009 par la RMN et le Musée de l'Armée aux Invalides : « L'illustration, 836 planches dont une soixantaine en couleurs, gravées à l'eau forte et au burin dans des formats jusqu'alors inusités (le plus grand couvre près d'un mètre carré), a nécessité la construction de nouvelles formes et cuves pour la fabrication du papier, justifié l'invention, par Nicolas Conté, d'une machine destinée à alléger la besogne des graveurs, et exigé la réalisation de nouvelles presses capables d'imprimer ces images immenses. Certaines d'entre elles ont demandé deux années de travail. Près de 200 graveurs ont reproduit sur le cuivre les uvres de 62 dessinateurs dont 46 ont participé à l'expédition. » Rare et superbe gravure originale d'une exceptionnelle facture et qualité graphique, témoignage d'une des plus ambitieuses aventures éditoriales françaises. - Photos sur www.Edition-originale.com - [AUTOMATIC ENGLISH TRANSLATION FOLLOWS] Original, unshaved, full-page etching from the ""Imperial edition"" of the Description de l'Égypte, or 'Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand [A Collection of the observations and research carried out in Egypt during the French expedition, published on the orders of his Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great]'. Produced between February 1802 and 1830 on the orders of Naopleon Bonaparte and published between 1809 and 1828, 1,000 copies were printed and distributed to institutions, on vergé paper with an 'Égypte ancienne et moderne' watermark, visible when held up to the light. Light marginal spotting not touching image, otherwise in very fresh, fine condition. An engraving from the Description de l'Egypte, one of the masterpieces of French printing and the birth of a new field: Egyptology. A gigantic survey of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests in 1798 and 1799, the work is divided into 13 volumes of engravings making up 892 plates, of which 72 colored, as well as presenting the splendors of the Egypt of the Pharaohs in 9 volumes. The other volumes discuss natural history and present a fascinating portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's Eastern Armies. The 'Egyptian campaign', militarily a disaster, demonstrates, through the engravings of the Description d'Egypte, the scientific success it nonetheless became thanks to the 167 expert members of the Commission of the Sciences and Arts of the Institut d'Egypte [Egyptian Institute] who followed Napoleon's army. The Institut gathered together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects and doctors. They were tasked with re-discovering modern and ancient Egypt and displaying its natural treasures as well as the know-how of its inhabitants. This edition, the so-called ""Imperial"" edition of the plates for the Description de l'Egypte was printed in four large formats, two of which were specially created for it and christened ""Moyen-Egypte"" and ""Grand-Egypte"". A special press was built to print it, the process extending over 20 years, from 1809 to 1829. The ""Imperial"" edition proved so popular that a second edition, this time in black and white and without the ""Egypte ancienne et moderne"" watermark - known as the ""Royal Edition"" - was published during the Restoration by the printing house of C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). The engravings of the Description d'Egypte owe a great deal to Baron Dominique-Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later Director of the Musée Napoléon (the Louvre). His exploration of the South of Egypt gave Bonaparte the idea of sending the experts of the Institut there, thus creating a faithful and complete portrait of the area. This was the research gathered together from 1802 in the mammoth Description de L'Egypte. Denon embarked on this story of archeological exploration at the age of 51, reaching first Alexandria and then Cairo before exploring Upper Egypt. Along with the members of the Institut d'Egypte, the Natural History Museum's painter H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of Roses), the mineralogist Dolomiue, and the draughtsman Joly, Denon then explored the Nile Delta and Lower Egypt. When, however, he joined the 21st Light Infantry Regiment as it marched across Upper Egypt in pursuit of the retreating Mameluks in November 1798, he found himself the only civilian. In the very midst of the battle itself, he reeled off sketches of the works of art that peppered his path right up to the threshold of the Sudan. He said that he had crossed ""a country that is, apart from its name, entirely unknown to Europeans, and therefore everything was worth describing"" (Voyages dans la Basse et la Haute Egypte pendant les campagnes de Bonaparte en 1798 et 1799, 1817). On his return to Cairo, the great general, spellbound by Denon's accounts and drawings ordered two commissions to be set up, led by the engineers Fourier and Costaz. They were tasked with the scientific study of the ancient remains in Upper Egypt; research that proved a significant contribution to the monumental Description d'Egypte, from which this plate is taken. ANCIENT EGYPTThese engravings therefore represent a unique body of material that contributed to Jean-François Champollion's deciphering of hieroglyphics, and which mark the beginning of the line of Mariette, Maspero and Carter, who would reshape the face of Ancient Egypt. They also started a craze that gave birth to the phenomenon of Egyptomania and the Orientalism of Delacroix, Fromentin, Marilhat, Decamps and Théophile Gautier. Financiers, politicians, merchants and all kinds of treasure-hunters made their way to the banks of the Nile in search of riches, following this rediscovery of Egypt. The originators of Egyptology, these plates were to have a hugely influential afterlife. NATURAL HISTORYThese engravings show the scientific genius of the French experts then working on the ground in Egypt, laying the foundations for its becoming a French colony. This colonizing project, which had been mooted since the reign of Louis XIV, was now accompanied - with Bonaparte's arrival - by an in-depth study of the country's fauna and flora thanks to the work of the most eminent naturalists, mineralogists, and entomologists of the day. The Description de l'Egypte shows all of this immense scientific undertaking through its engravings, which were done after drawings by members of the Academy of Science, including Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hillaire, Alire Raffenau-Delile and Henri-Joseph Redouté. In the words of Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ""We have gathered the material for the greatest work that a nation could hope to undertake. In mourning the fate of so many brave soldiers who - after so many glorious exploits - fell in Egypt, we shall be able to console ourselves that such precious works came into being."" MODERN EGYPTThe genius of the experts of the Institut d'Egypte is revealed in the plates of the section known as ""Modern Egypte"". Architecture, industry, social organization, conditions of health, irrigation, music, and crafts, are all presented with exceptional precision and powers of description. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie runs through the work of the draughtsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompanied the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, undertaking to produce a portrait of the local population that was imbued with both beauty and respect. Wealthy Pashas and simple artisan potters are sensitively represented here, going about their business in beautifully composed images that nonetheless do not fall into the traps of idealism or caricature. ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE (the ""Cairo"" plates) The set of engravings to which this plate belongs constitutes one of the first complete studies of the monuments of Islamic Egypt in Cairo, bringing together maps, sections and elevations of mosques, mausoleums and fortifications, from the Tulunid era in the 9th century up to the Mameluk constructions contemporaneous with the arrival of the Bonapartist troops. At the same time, the architects and engineers of the Institut d'Egypte also made a big series of plates dedicated to civilian housing and edifices in Cairo, including both grander and more modest constructions, providing a precious picture of life in Cairo at the end of the 19th century. BAB AL FOUTOUH Bab el-Foutouh, "" The Conquest Gate"" marks the northern limit of Fatimid old Cairo. Rebuilt in 1087, it is highly defensive in nature owing to the turbulent climate in 11th Century Cairo, which saw a number of popular uprisings. An imposing gate, it has two semicircular towers with low-slung arches made of heavy blocks of stone anchored within the ramparts. The sizeable passage through the gate (4.85m wide by 6.79m high) has a shallow dome. BAB EL NASR Bab el-Nasr, ""The Victory Gate"" is on the northern wall of the Fatimid fortress in Cairo. Its two enormous rectangular towers were rebuilt in 1087 after a long period of popular uprisings. On this highly attractive frontal image signed Protain, one can admire the sculpted shields in the corners of the gate and on the towers, symbolizing victory and protection against invaders. After taking Cairo, Napoleon named all the towers along the wall of the fortress after the officers assigned to guard them. Their names are still engraved on the upper parts of the walls of the gate. SULTAN HASSAN MOSQUEThe massive architectural complex constructed by Sultan Hassan at the foot of the citadel in Cairo was built in the ostentatious style so characteristic of Mameluk architecture. Completed in 1356, the Sultan Hassan Mosque has a monumental gate and a 57m high minaret. This group of buildings, comprising a mausoleum that was never put to use, was strategically built on the site of a square that saw the start of a number of popular uprisings. The mosque was heavily inspired by Iranian models. Philae This plate is taken from a set of engravings dedicated to the Temple of Isis on the island of Philae. The final bastion of the worship of the ancient Egyptian gods, the temple of Isis was the last pagan temple to be in use before it was closed in the 6th century A.D. under Justinian. Construction on the temple began under the Ptolemies, a period of growth for the Isis cult. Isis was the sister and wife of Osiris and mother to Horus. Kom Ombo (Ombos) The Kom Ombo site, 40 kilometers from Aswan, is home to one of the best preserved ancient Egyptian temples, dedicated to Sobek, a crocodile god and Haroeris, a form of Horus. Built in the Ptolemaic era, it was actually founded during the XVIIIth Dynasty. Its massive Composite capitals and highly accomplished reliefs are captured accurately by the draughtsmen of the Institut d'Egypte, Jollois, Balzac and Cécile. The dual aspect of its design, intended for worship of two different divine triads - those of Sobek and Haroeris - is reproduced in great detail by the architects and engineers of the Egyptian campaign through this set of prints, which preceded the first archeological digs in the building by Auguste Mariette in 1828. Edfu This plate is taken from a series of views of the great temple at Edfu and the various buildings in its cultic complex. The temple of Horus, a jewel of Ptolemaic architecture and exceptionally well-preserved, is made up of a majestic entry gate and a hypostyle chamber, which are both extensively documented thanks to the engravings by the experts of the Institut d'Egypte. Begun in 237 BC by Ptolemy III and completed 180 years later under Tiberius, it proved an extraordinary sight for the draughtsmen come to explore the left bank of the Nile. Esna and its environs The town of Esna (Esneh or Latopolis in Bonaparte's time), lies fifty kilometers to the south of Luxor. The experts from the Institut de l'Egypte documented their discovery of its temple, dedicated to Khnum, one of the gods of creation who worked with clay and had the head of a ram; he controlled the life-giving flooding of the Nile, the source of fertility. He was associated with Nebt-uu, the mistress of the countryside and Menhyt, a goddess with the head of a lion. This temple, partially rebuilt during the Ptolemaic era, was added to right up to the reign of Tiberius. The draughtsmen also produced a number of views of the neighboring temples, most notably the less well-preserved temple of Contra-Latopolis to the north of Esna. Thebes Medinet-Habu Close to Thebes and Luxor on the left bank of the Nile, the city of Medinet-Habu is home to one of the most attractive temples of New Kingdom period Egypt, the mortuary temple of Ramses III. This dates from the middle of the 12th century BC, and is based on the famous Ramesseum of his predecessor, which it surpasses in size. A funerary temple celebrating the Pharaoh, the experts of the Institut d'Egypte set about creating cross-sections, plans and elevations, and most especially capturing its numerous bas-reliefs. The architects and draughtsmen also focused on the Royal Palace and its internal peristyle within the 12-metre fortress that encircles the religious complex, including the Temple of Amon, located at the south-east of the site and begun in the reign of Hatshepsut at the end of the 15th Century BC. Memnonium The Memnonium, a name used by visitors to the Valley of the Kings from 1750 to 1850, refers to a set of three royal buildings constructed during the New Kingdom: the Ramesseum, the Temple of Amenhotep III and the Temple of Sethi I. The draughtsmen and architects of Bonaparte's Institut, sent out on expedition across Upper Egypt from 1799 documented Thebes and the Valley of the Kings, even attempting to reconstruct some of the buildings on the basis of descriptions by Classical authors. The tomb of Ozymandias (one of the numerous names of Ramses II), in a very poor state, thus became the subject of very thorough study and an attempt to fill in its missing bits on the basis of the writings of Diodurus Siculus. This Greek historian of the Augustine period stayed in the valley of the Nile from 60-57 BC and his visit to the tomb of Ramses II is recounted in his monumental Bibliotheca Historica (Book I, XLVII-XLIX).At the same time, the experts also made extremely detailed studies and views of the Colossi of Memnon, all that remains of a huge memorial temple to Amenhotep III built on the road to the necropolis in the Valley of the Kings. These colossi were located at the entrance to the temple in front of a preliminary pylon made of brick. These two statues represent King Amenhotep III framed to the right by the great Royal Consort Tiy and to the left by the Queen Mother Mutemwiya. Hypogea and Biban el Moluk This plate is taken from a series of engravings of the hypogea in the Valley of the Kings (Biban el Moluk) in Thebes. Some are in color to show the vivid hues of the sarcophaguses and mysterious murals whose secret had yet to be broken by Jean-François Champollion. The draughtsmen of the Institut, including the famous Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, sent by Napoleon to cover Upper Egypt in 1799, capture with élan the royal mummies and the artifacts that accompanied the dead in their journey to the netherworld: urns, furniture, weapons, idols and the mummies of numerous mammals and birds. Karnak This plate is from a set on the Great Temple at Karnak, built during the New Kingdom at the time of Ramses III. This enormous complex is divided into three parts and is dedicated to the Theban Triad of gods, Amun, Mut and Khonsu. Its sculptures, internal bas-reliefs and sunken reliefs on the external facades are intricately captured by the engineers of the Institut, while the architects worked out the complex groundplan of this edifice, which was divided into facades, colonnaded halls and sacral spaces reserved for the temple priests. The alley of the monumental sphinx which links the site to the Luxor site was also the subject of a plate by Lepère, an architect from the Institut who took part in the expedition across Upper Egypt. Dendera The experts executed views and drawings of the temples of Dendera (or Tentyra), a city in Upper Egypt 60km to the north of Luxor. They have captured, with an exceptional degree of graphic artistry, the thick, round nature of the sculpted reliefs of the great Temple of Hathor, built under the Ptolemies in the first half of the 1st century BC. They also produced interesting views of the neighboring temples as well as a selection of reliefs of the ""Dendera Zodiac"", a chapel dedicated to Osiris and located beneath the temple of Hathor. Its famous astronomical relief was discovered by the French General Desaix - stationed in Upper Egypt by Bonaparte from 1798 - and taken back to France in 1821 by Claude Lelorrain; it is now on display in the Louvre. Another astronomical and cosmological relief on the ceiling of the hypostyle hall of the Temple of Hathor is the subject of a magnificent plate by Jollois and Devilliers. This covers seven soffit coffers of the ceiling and is an immense allegorical image showing several levels of consciousness: that of cosmogony, the constellations and their effect on the Earth, the creation of Man, and the Nomes of Egypt, symbolized by 21 pairs of wings topped with the red crown of Lower Egypt and the white tiara of Upper Egypt. The Pyramids at Memphis The Giza Plateau, near Memphis, is home to three of the most famous Ancient Egyptian Pyramids, the tombs of Cheops, Khafre and Menkaure, Pharaohs of the 4th Dynasty (2620-2500 BC). The experts of the Institut, hurrying to Memphis, explored the plateau and made numerous views of these majestic pyramids, towering over inhabitants and mounted figures. They also made minutely detailed views of the epigraphs on the tombs adjacent to the pyramids, as well as views of the Sphinx of Gaza near the Pyramid of Khafre. Views of Alexandria A plate taken from a set of view of Alexandria as it was found by Napoleon's army in June 1798. Embarking in Toulon on the 14th May, his troops disembarked at Alexandria a month later and explored this port city before heading towards Cairo to take the capital. " Imprimerie Impériale Paris _1809-1829 54x71cm une feuille‎

‎"DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE. Arts et métiers. Vue et détails de la roue à jantes creuses ou machine à arroser. (ETAT MODERNE, volume II, planche III)"‎

‎" - Imprimerie Impériale, Paris 1809-1829, 53,5x71cm, une feuille. - Gravure originale à l'eau-forte in plano, non rognée, extraite de l'édition dite « Impériale » de la Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand. Réalisée entre février 1802 et 1829 sur ordre de Napoléon Bonaparte et publiée à partir de 1809 [en réalité 1810], elle fut tirée à 1000 exemplaires sur Vergé filigrané « Égypte ancienne et moderne » et offerte aux institutions. Légères et marginales rousseurs sans atteinte à la gravure, sinon très bel état de fraîcheur et de conservation. Volume ETAT MODERNE, II : Le génie des savants de l'Institut se révèle particulièrement à travers les planches de la section dite Egypte Moderne. Architecture, industrie, structures sociales, état sanitaire, régime des eaux, musique, artisanat, sont exposés avec une précision et une qualité graphique exceptionnelle. L'esprit de L'Encyclopédie de Diderot et d'Alembert reste sous-jacent dans la démarche des dessinateurs de la Description de L'Egypte, qui accompagnent les volumes de textes de nombreuses planches détaillées, s'employant à dresser un portrait des populations empreint de beauté et de respect. Riches pachas ou simples artisans potiers sont représentés avec sensibilité, vaquant à leurs occupations au milieu de compositions esthétiques, sans pour autant tomber dans l'idéalisme ou la caricature. LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, édition IMPERIALE (1809-1829) : La Description de l'Egypte est un des chefs d'uvre de l'édition française et le point de départ d'une nouvelle science : l'égyptologie. Titanesque exposé de l'Egypte au temps des conquêtes de Bonaparte entre 1798 et 1799, elle est répartie en 23 volumes dont 13 volumes de gravures rassemblant près de 1000 planches en noir et 72 en couleur. Les 6 volumes de planches intitulées Antiquités sont consacrés aux splendeurs de l'Egypte pharaonique. L'Histoire naturelle est répartie en 3 volumes de gravures. Un volume est consacré aux Cartes géographiques et topographiques tandis que les 3 volumes : Etat Moderne dressent un portrait saisissant de l'Egypte copte et islamique telle qu'elle était vue par les armées d'Orient de Bonaparte. La « campagne d'Egypte », désastre militaire, dévoile à travers les gravures de la Description de l'Egypte la réussite scientifique qu'elle est devenue, grâce aux quelques 167 savants membres de la Commission des sciences et des arts de l'Institut d'Egypte qui suivaient l'armée de Napoléon. L'Institut a réuni en Egypte le mathématicien Monge, le chimiste Berthollet, le naturaliste Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ainsi que de nombreux artistes, ingénieurs, architectes, médecins... Ils eurent la charge de redécouvrir l'Egypte moderne et antique, d'en montrer les richesses naturelles, et le savoir-faire de ses habitants. L'édition originale, dite « Impériale », de la Description de l'Egypte fut réalisée sur quatre formats de grande taille, deux d'entre eux spécialement créés pour elle et baptisés formats « Moyen-Egypte » et « Grand-Egypte ». On construisit une presse spécifique pour son impression, qui s'étala sur vingt ans, entre 1809 et 1829. L'édition Impériale s'avéra si populaire qu'une deuxième édition en 37 volumes entièrement en noir et sans le filigrane « Egypte ancienne et moderne », dite édition « Panckoucke », fut publiée à partir de 1821 par l'imprimerie C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). La réalisation de ce monument d'érudition doit beaucoup au baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrateur, diplomate, collectionneur et par la suite directeur du musée Napoléon du Louvre qui accompagna Napoléon en Egypte avec de nombreux autres savants mais décida seul de s'aventurer dans le Sud du pays, alors que les autres scientifiques conviés restaient confinés dans la région du Caire. Les fabuleux croquis rapportés par Denon lors de sa romanesque chevauchée donnèrent l'idée à Bonaparte d'y envoyer les autres membres de l'Institut et ainsi dresser un portrait fidèle et complet du territoire. A la suite de Denon, ce sont donc les plus grands scientifiques et artistes français qui s'aventurèrent le long du Nil jusqu'en Nubie. Parmi eux, le peintre au muséum d'histoire naturelle H.J. Redouté (frère de Pierre-Joseph Redouté, auteur des Roses), le minéralogiste Dolomieu, le dessinateur Joly, et les ingénieurs Fourier et Costaz, chargés de l'étude scientifique des vestiges antiques de Haute-Egypte. Sans doute pour la première fois réunie dans une telle expédition, l'élite scientifique et artistique française, composée de plus de 160 « savants » dont près de 50 artistes, étudie méthodiquement l'Egypte pendant trois ans. Ils réalisent alors, sous l'égide et à la gloire de Napoléon, la plus vaste analyse historique, géographique, scientifique, économique et ethnologique jamais réalisée sur un pays. Mais ce sont peut-être les gravures qui constituèrent le défi technique majeur de cette Description de l'Egypte, comme en témoigne Yves Laissus, commissaire de l'exposition organisée en 2009 par la RMN et le Musée de l'Armée aux Invalides : « L'illustration, 836 planches dont une soixantaine en couleurs, gravées à l'eau forte et au burin dans des formats jusqu'alors inusités (le plus grand couvre près d'un mètre carré), a nécessité la construction de nouvelles formes et cuves pour la fabrication du papier, justifié l'invention, par Nicolas Conté, d'une machine destinée à alléger la besogne des graveurs, et exigé la réalisation de nouvelles presses capables d'imprimer ces images immenses. Certaines d'entre elles ont demandé deux années de travail. Près de 200 graveurs ont reproduit sur le cuivre les uvres de 62 dessinateurs dont 46 ont participé à l'expédition. » Rare et superbe gravure originale d'une exceptionnelle facture et qualité graphique, témoignage d'une des plus ambitieuses aventures éditoriales françaises. - Photos sur www.Edition-originale.com - [AUTOMATIC ENGLISH TRANSLATION FOLLOWS] Original etching etching, in plano, untrimmed, extracted from the 'Imperial Edition' of the Description of Egypt or Series observations and research done in Egypt during the French expedition, published by order of His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great. Conducted between 1802 and 1830 and published between 1809 and 1828, she was taken in 1000 copies available to institutions. Laid paper with watermark visible transparence.Légères marginal foxing and without any harm to the engraving, otherwise very good freshness and preservation ancient and modern Egypt. The monumental first edition of the Description of Egypt in 13 volumes contained 892 colored plates of which 72, including 9 volumes involved antiquity. The other volumes dealt with the Natural History and modern Egypt as Napoleon Bonaparte had brought with him a commission of scholars from all disciplines so that, they said, in his description was stored the richest museum of universe. The work was written in part by Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, before he became DG of Napoleon in the Louvre Museum. More than 80 artists and 400 writers were hired for this huge project. The dimensions of the exceptionally large boards necessitated the creation of a special press and a specific piece of furniture to keep them ...! --- Please note that the translation in english is done automatically, we apologize if the formulas are inaccurate. Contact us for any information!" Imprimerie Impériale Paris _1809-1829 "53,5x71cm" une feuille‎

‎"DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE. Arts et métiers. Vues et détails de deux machines à arroser, appelées Châdouf et Mentâl. (ETAT MODERNE, volume II, planche VI)"‎

‎" - Imprimerie Impériale, Paris 1809-1829, 53,5x71cm, une feuille. - Gravure originale à l'eau-forte in plano, non rognée, extraite de l'édition dite « Impériale » de la Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand. Réalisée entre février 1802 et 1829 sur ordre de Napoléon Bonaparte et publiée à partir de 1809 [en réalité 1810], elle fut tirée à 1000 exemplaires sur Vergé filigrané « Égypte ancienne et moderne » et offerte aux institutions. Légères et marginales rousseurs sans atteinte à la gravure, sinon très bel état de fraîcheur et de conservation. Volume ETAT MODERNE, II : Le génie des savants de l'Institut se révèle particulièrement à travers les planches de la section dite Egypte Moderne. Architecture, industrie, structures sociales, état sanitaire, régime des eaux, musique, artisanat, sont exposés avec une précision et une qualité graphique exceptionnelle. L'esprit de L'Encyclopédie de Diderot et d'Alembert reste sous-jacent dans la démarche des dessinateurs de la Description de L'Egypte, qui accompagnent les volumes de textes de nombreuses planches détaillées, s'employant à dresser un portrait des populations empreint de beauté et de respect. Riches pachas ou simples artisans potiers sont représentés avec sensibilité, vaquant à leurs occupations au milieu de compositions esthétiques, sans pour autant tomber dans l'idéalisme ou la caricature. LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, édition IMPERIALE (1809-1829) : La Description de l'Egypte est un des chefs d'uvre de l'édition française et le point de départ d'une nouvelle science : l'égyptologie. Titanesque exposé de l'Egypte au temps des conquêtes de Bonaparte entre 1798 et 1799, elle est répartie en 23 volumes dont 13 volumes de gravures rassemblant près de 1000 planches en noir et 72 en couleur. Les 6 volumes de planches intitulées Antiquités sont consacrés aux splendeurs de l'Egypte pharaonique. L'Histoire naturelle est répartie en 3 volumes de gravures. Un volume est consacré aux Cartes géographiques et topographiques tandis que les 3 volumes : Etat Moderne dressent un portrait saisissant de l'Egypte copte et islamique telle qu'elle était vue par les armées d'Orient de Bonaparte. La « campagne d'Egypte », désastre militaire, dévoile à travers les gravures de la Description de l'Egypte la réussite scientifique qu'elle est devenue, grâce aux quelques 167 savants membres de la Commission des sciences et des arts de l'Institut d'Egypte qui suivaient l'armée de Napoléon. L'Institut a réuni en Egypte le mathématicien Monge, le chimiste Berthollet, le naturaliste Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ainsi que de nombreux artistes, ingénieurs, architectes, médecins... Ils eurent la charge de redécouvrir l'Egypte moderne et antique, d'en montrer les richesses naturelles, et le savoir-faire de ses habitants. L'édition originale, dite « Impériale », de la Description de l'Egypte fut réalisée sur quatre formats de grande taille, deux d'entre eux spécialement créés pour elle et baptisés formats « Moyen-Egypte » et « Grand-Egypte ». On construisit une presse spécifique pour son impression, qui s'étala sur vingt ans, entre 1809 et 1829. L'édition Impériale s'avéra si populaire qu'une deuxième édition en 37 volumes entièrement en noir et sans le filigrane « Egypte ancienne et moderne », dite édition « Panckoucke », fut publiée à partir de 1821 par l'imprimerie C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). La réalisation de ce monument d'érudition doit beaucoup au baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrateur, diplomate, collectionneur et par la suite directeur du musée Napoléon du Louvre qui accompagna Napoléon en Egypte avec de nombreux autres savants mais décida seul de s'aventurer dans le Sud du pays, alors que les autres scientifiques conviés restaient confinés dans la région du Caire. Les fabuleux croquis rapportés par Denon lors de sa romanesque chevauchée donnèrent l'idée à Bonaparte d'y envoyer les autres membres de l'Institut et ainsi dresser un portrait fidèle et complet du territoire. A la suite de Denon, ce sont donc les plus grands scientifiques et artistes français qui s'aventurèrent le long du Nil jusqu'en Nubie. Parmi eux, le peintre au muséum d'histoire naturelle H.J. Redouté (frère de Pierre-Joseph Redouté, auteur des Roses), le minéralogiste Dolomieu, le dessinateur Joly, et les ingénieurs Fourier et Costaz, chargés de l'étude scientifique des vestiges antiques de Haute-Egypte. Sans doute pour la première fois réunie dans une telle expédition, l'élite scientifique et artistique française, composée de plus de 160 « savants » dont près de 50 artistes, étudie méthodiquement l'Egypte pendant trois ans. Ils réalisent alors, sous l'égide et à la gloire de Napoléon, la plus vaste analyse historique, géographique, scientifique, économique et ethnologique jamais réalisée sur un pays. Mais ce sont peut-être les gravures qui constituèrent le défi technique majeur de cette Description de l'Egypte, comme en témoigne Yves Laissus, commissaire de l'exposition organisée en 2009 par la RMN et le Musée de l'Armée aux Invalides : « L'illustration, 836 planches dont une soixantaine en couleurs, gravées à l'eau forte et au burin dans des formats jusqu'alors inusités (le plus grand couvre près d'un mètre carré), a nécessité la construction de nouvelles formes et cuves pour la fabrication du papier, justifié l'invention, par Nicolas Conté, d'une machine destinée à alléger la besogne des graveurs, et exigé la réalisation de nouvelles presses capables d'imprimer ces images immenses. Certaines d'entre elles ont demandé deux années de travail. Près de 200 graveurs ont reproduit sur le cuivre les uvres de 62 dessinateurs dont 46 ont participé à l'expédition. » Rare et superbe gravure originale d'une exceptionnelle facture et qualité graphique, témoignage d'une des plus ambitieuses aventures éditoriales françaises. - Photos sur www.Edition-originale.com - [AUTOMATIC ENGLISH TRANSLATION FOLLOWS] Original etching etching, in plano, untrimmed, extracted from the 'Imperial Edition' of the Description of Egypt or Series observations and research done in Egypt during the French expedition, published by order of His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great. Conducted between 1802 and 1830 and published between 1809 and 1828, she was taken in 1000 copies available to institutions. Laid paper with watermark visible transparence.Infimes and marginal foxing or offense against engraving, otherwise very good freshness and preservation ancient and modern Egypt. The monumental first edition of the Description of Egypt in 13 volumes contained 892 colored plates of which 72, including 9 volumes involved antiquity. The other volumes dealt with the Natural History and modern Egypt as Napoleon Bonaparte had brought with him a commission of scholars from all disciplines so that, they said, in his description was stored the richest museum of universe. The work was written in part by Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, before he became DG of Napoleon in the Louvre Museum. More than 80 artists and 400 writers were hired for this huge project. The dimensions of the exceptionally large boards necessitated the creation of a special press and a specific piece of furniture to keep them ...! --- Please note that the translation in english is done automatically, we apologize if the formulas are inaccurate. Contact us for any information!" Imprimerie Impériale Paris _1809-1829 "53,5x71cm" une feuille‎

‎"DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE. Le Kaire [Le Caire]. Vue d'une salle de la maison de Solymân Aghâ & Vue intérieure du palais de Qasim Bey. (ETAT MODERNE, volume I, planche 51)"‎

‎" - Imprimerie Impériale, Paris 1809-1829, 70x53,5cm, une feuille. - Gravure originale à l'eau-forte in plano, non rognée, extraite de l'édition dite « Impériale » de la Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand. Réalisée entre février 1802 et 1829 sur ordre de Napoléon Bonaparte et publiée à partir de 1809 [en réalité 1810], elle fut tirée à 1000 exemplaires sur Vergé filigrané « Égypte ancienne et moderne » et offerte aux institutions. Superbes vues de l'une des salles de la maison de Solymân Aghâ (ou Suleyman Aga) Mustapha Racan et d'une cour intérieure du palais de Qasim Bey, qui offrent une vision précise des richesses ornementales des intérieurs égyptiens. Solymân Agha était un émissaire de Mehmed IV, sultan de l'Empire Ottoman, envoyé en ambassade auprès du roi Louis XIV en novembre 1669. Cette visite, destinée à restaurer les liens diplomatiques entre la France et la Turquie, sera un échec complet. Infimes piqûres marginales n'affectant pas du tout la planche, très légère décharge d'encre au dos, sinon excellent état de fraîcheur et de conservation. ARCHITECTURE ISLAMIQUE DU CAIRE : L'ensemble de gravures auquel cette planche appartient constitue une des premières études raisonnées des monuments de l'Egypte islamique au Caire, rassemblant plans, coupes et élévations de mosquées, de mausolées et de fortifications, depuis le IXe siècle tulunide jusqu'aux constructions mameloukes contemporaines de l'arrivée des troupes de Bonaparte. Par ailleurs, les architectes et ingénieurs de l'Institut d'Egypte ont réalisé une large série de planches consacrées aux habitations et constructions civiles, qu'elles soient de grande ou plus modeste facture, apportant de précieux témoignages sur la vie des Cairotes de la fin du XIXe siècle. Les quelques vestiges antiques restant dans la ville furent également immortalisés par les savants de l'Institut, qui avaient établi leurs quartiers dans la capitale. Volume ETAT MODERNE, I : Le génie des savants de l'Institut se révèle particulièrement à travers les planches de la section dite Egypte Moderne. Architecture, industrie, structures sociales, état sanitaire, régime des eaux, musique, artisanat, sont exposés avec une précision et une qualité graphique exceptionnelle. L'esprit de L'Encyclopédie de Diderot et d'Alembert reste sous-jacent dans la démarche des dessinateurs de la Description de L'Egypte, qui accompagnent les volumes de textes de nombreuses planches détaillées, s'employant à dresser un portrait des populations empreint de beauté et de respect. Riches pachas ou simples artisans potiers sont représentés avec sensibilité, vaquant à leurs occupations au milieu de compositions esthétiques, sans pour autant tomber dans l'idéalisme ou la caricature. LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, édition IMPERIALE (1809-1829) : La Description de l'Egypte est un des chefs d'uvre de l'édition française et le point de départ d'une nouvelle science : l'égyptologie. Titanesque exposé de l'Egypte au temps des conquêtes de Bonaparte entre 1798 et 1799, elle est répartie en 23 volumes dont 13 volumes de gravures rassemblant près de 1000 planches en noir et 72 en couleur. Les 6 volumes de planches intitulées Antiquités sont consacrés aux splendeurs de l'Egypte pharaonique. L'Histoire naturelle est répartie en 3 volumes de gravures. Un volume est consacré aux Cartes géographiques et topographiques tandis que les 3 volumes : Etat Moderne dressent un portrait saisissant de l'Egypte copte et islamique telle qu'elle était vue par les armées d'Orient de Bonaparte. La « campagne d'Egypte », désastre militaire, dévoile à travers les gravures de la Description de l'Egypte la réussite scientifique qu'elle est devenue, grâce aux quelques 167 savants membres de la Commission des sciences et des arts de l'Institut d'Egypte qui suivaient l'armée de Napoléon. L'Institut a réuni en Egypte le mathématicien Monge, le chimiste Berthollet, le naturaliste Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ainsi que de nombreux artistes, ingénieurs, architectes, médecins... Ils eurent la charge de redécouvrir l'Egypte moderne et antique, d'en montrer les richesses naturelles, et le savoir-faire de ses habitants. L'édition originale, dite « Impériale », de la Description de l'Egypte fut réalisée sur quatre formats de grande taille, deux d'entre eux spécialement créés pour elle et baptisés formats « Moyen-Egypte » et « Grand-Egypte ». On construisit une presse spécifique pour son impression, qui s'étala sur vingt ans, entre 1809 et 1829. L'édition Impériale s'avéra si populaire qu'une deuxième édition en 37 volumes entièrement en noir et sans le filigrane « Egypte ancienne et moderne », dite édition « Panckoucke », fut publiée à partir de 1821 par l'imprimerie C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). La réalisation de ce monument d'érudition doit beaucoup au baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrateur, diplomate, collectionneur et par la suite directeur du musée Napoléon du Louvre qui accompagna Napoléon en Egypte avec de nombreux autres savants mais décida seul de s'aventurer dans le Sud du pays, alors que les autres scientifiques conviés restaient confinés dans la région du Caire. Les fabuleux croquis rapportés par Denon lors de sa romanesque chevauchée donnèrent l'idée à Bonaparte d'y envoyer les autres membres de l'Institut et ainsi dresser un portrait fidèle et complet du territoire. A la suite de Denon, ce sont donc les plus grands scientifiques et artistes français qui s'aventurèrent le long du Nil jusqu'en Nubie. Parmi eux, le peintre au muséum d'histoire naturelle H.J. Redouté (frère de Pierre-Joseph Redouté, auteur des Roses), le minéralogiste Dolomieu, le dessinateur Joly, et les ingénieurs Fourier et Costaz, chargés de l'étude scientifique des vestiges antiques de Haute-Egypte. Sans doute pour la première fois réunie dans une telle expédition, l'élite scientifique et artistique française, composée de plus de 160 « savants » dont près de 50 artistes, étudie méthodiquement l'Egypte pendant trois ans. Ils réalisent alors, sous l'égide et à la gloire de Napoléon, la plus vaste analyse historique, géographique, scientifique, économique et ethnologique jamais réalisée sur un pays. Mais ce sont peut-être les gravures qui constituèrent le défi technique majeur de cette Description de l'Egypte, comme en témoigne Yves Laissus, commissaire de l'exposition organisée en 2009 par la RMN et le Musée de l'Armée aux Invalides : « L'illustration, 836 planches dont une soixantaine en couleurs, gravées à l'eau forte et au burin dans des formats jusqu'alors inusités (le plus grand couvre près d'un mètre carré), a nécessité la construction de nouvelles formes et cuves pour la fabrication du papier, justifié l'invention, par Nicolas Conté, d'une machine destinée à alléger la besogne des graveurs, et exigé la réalisation de nouvelles presses capables d'imprimer ces images immenses. Certaines d'entre elles ont demandé deux années de travail. Près de 200 graveurs ont reproduit sur le cuivre les uvres de 62 dessinateurs dont 46 ont participé à l'expédition. » Rare et superbe gravure originale d'une exceptionnelle facture et qualité graphique, témoignage d'une des plus ambitieuses aventures éditoriales françaises. - Photos sur www.Edition-originale.com - [AUTOMATIC ENGLISH TRANSLATION FOLLOWS] Original, unshaved, full-page etching from the ""Imperial edition"" of the Description de l'Égypte, or 'Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand [A Collection of the observations and research carried out in Egypt during the French expedition, published on the orders of his Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great]'. Produced between February 1802 and 1830 on the orders of Naopleon Bonaparte and published between 1809 and 1828, 1,000 copies were printed and distributed to institutions, on vergé paper with an 'Égypte ancienne et moderne' watermark, visible when held up to the light. Light marginal spotting not touching image, otherwise in very fresh, fine condition. An engraving from the Description de l'Egypte, one of the masterpieces of French printing and the birth of a new field: Egyptology. A gigantic survey of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests in 1798 and 1799, the work is divided into 13 volumes of engravings making up 892 plates, of which 72 colored, as well as presenting the splendors of the Egypt of the Pharaohs in 9 volumes. The other volumes discuss natural history and present a fascinating portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's Eastern Armies. The 'Egyptian campaign', militarily a disaster, demonstrates, through the engravings of the Description d'Egypte, the scientific success it nonetheless became thanks to the 167 expert members of the Commission of the Sciences and Arts of the Institut d'Egypte [Egyptian Institute] who followed Napoleon's army. The Institut gathered together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects and doctors. They were tasked with re-discovering modern and ancient Egypt and displaying its natural treasures as well as the know-how of its inhabitants. This edition, the so-called ""Imperial"" edition of the plates for the Description de l'Egypte was printed in four large formats, two of which were specially created for it and christened ""Moyen-Egypte"" and ""Grand-Egypte"". A special press was built to print it, the process extending over 20 years, from 1809 to 1829. The ""Imperial"" edition proved so popular that a second edition, this time in black and white and without the ""Egypte ancienne et moderne"" watermark - known as the ""Royal Edition"" - was published during the Restoration by the printing house of C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). The engravings of the Description d'Egypte owe a great deal to Baron Dominique-Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later Director of the Musée Napoléon (the Louvre). His exploration of the South of Egypt gave Bonaparte the idea of sending the experts of the Institut there, thus creating a faithful and complete portrait of the area. This was the research gathered together from 1802 in the mammoth Description de L'Egypte. Denon embarked on this story of archeological exploration at the age of 51, reaching first Alexandria and then Cairo before exploring Upper Egypt. Along with the members of the Institut d'Egypte, the Natural History Museum's painter H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of Roses), the mineralogist Dolomiue, and the draughtsman Joly, Denon then explored the Nile Delta and Lower Egypt. When, however, he joined the 21st Light Infantry Regiment as it marched across Upper Egypt in pursuit of the retreating Mameluks in November 1798, he found himself the only civilian. In the very midst of the battle itself, he reeled off sketches of the works of art that peppered his path right up to the threshold of the Sudan. He said that he had crossed ""a country that is, apart from its name, entirely unknown to Europeans, and therefore everything was worth describing"" (Voyages dans la Basse et la Haute Egypte pendant les campagnes de Bonaparte en 1798 et 1799, 1817). On his return to Cairo, the great general, spellbound by Denon's accounts and drawings ordered two commissions to be set up, led by the engineers Fourier and Costaz. They were tasked with the scientific study of the ancient remains in Upper Egypt; research that proved a significant contribution to the monumental Description d'Egypte, from which this plate is taken. ANCIENT EGYPTThese engravings therefore represent a unique body of material that contributed to Jean-François Champollion's deciphering of hieroglyphics, and which mark the beginning of the line of Mariette, Maspero and Carter, who would reshape the face of Ancient Egypt. They also started a craze that gave birth to the phenomenon of Egyptomania and the Orientalism of Delacroix, Fromentin, Marilhat, Decamps and Théophile Gautier. Financiers, politicians, merchants and all kinds of treasure-hunters made their way to the banks of the Nile in search of riches, following this rediscovery of Egypt. The originators of Egyptology, these plates were to have a hugely influential afterlife. NATURAL HISTORYThese engravings show the scientific genius of the French experts then working on the ground in Egypt, laying the foundations for its becoming a French colony. This colonizing project, which had been mooted since the reign of Louis XIV, was now accompanied - with Bonaparte's arrival - by an in-depth study of the country's fauna and flora thanks to the work of the most eminent naturalists, mineralogists, and entomologists of the day. The Description de l'Egypte shows all of this immense scientific undertaking through its engravings, which were done after drawings by members of the Academy of Science, including Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hillaire, Alire Raffenau-Delile and Henri-Joseph Redouté. In the words of Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ""We have gathered the material for the greatest work that a nation could hope to undertake. In mourning the fate of so many brave soldiers who - after so many glorious exploits - fell in Egypt, we shall be able to console ourselves that such precious works came into being."" MODERN EGYPTThe genius of the experts of the Institut d'Egypte is revealed in the plates of the section known as ""Modern Egypte"". Architecture, industry, social organization, conditions of health, irrigation, music, and crafts, are all presented with exceptional precision and powers of description. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie runs through the work of the draughtsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompanied the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, undertaking to produce a portrait of the local population that was imbued with both beauty and respect. Wealthy Pashas and simple artisan potters are sensitively represented here, going about their business in beautifully composed images that nonetheless do not fall into the traps of idealism or caricature. ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE (the ""Cairo"" plates) The set of engravings to which this plate belongs constitutes one of the first complete studies of the monuments of Islamic Egypt in Cairo, bringing together maps, sections and elevations of mosques, mausoleums and fortifications, from the Tulunid era in the 9th century up to the Mameluk constructions contemporaneous with the arrival of the Bonapartist troops. At the same time, the architects and engineers of the Institut d'Egypte also made a big series of plates dedicated to civilian housing and edifices in Cairo, including both grander and more modest constructions, providing a precious picture of life in Cairo at the end of the 19th century. BAB AL FOUTOUH Bab el-Foutouh, "" The Conquest Gate"" marks the northern limit of Fatimid old Cairo. Rebuilt in 1087, it is highly defensive in nature owing to the turbulent climate in 11th Century Cairo, which saw a number of popular uprisings. An imposing gate, it has two semicircular towers with low-slung arches made of heavy blocks of stone anchored within the ramparts. The sizeable passage through the gate (4.85m wide by 6.79m high) has a shallow dome. BAB EL NASR Bab el-Nasr, ""The Victory Gate"" is on the northern wall of the Fatimid fortress in Cairo. Its two enormous rectangular towers were rebuilt in 1087 after a long period of popular uprisings. On this highly attractive frontal image signed Protain, one can admire the sculpted shields in the corners of the gate and on the towers, symbolizing victory and protection against invaders. After taking Cairo, Napoleon named all the towers along the wall of the fortress after the officers assigned to guard them. Their names are still engraved on the upper parts of the walls of the gate. SULTAN HASSAN MOSQUEThe massive architectural complex constructed by Sultan Hassan at the foot of the citadel in Cairo was built in the ostentatious style so characteristic of Mameluk architecture. Completed in 1356, the Sultan Hassan Mosque has a monumental gate and a 57m high minaret. This group of buildings, comprising a mausoleum that was never put to use, was strategically built on the site of a square that saw the start of a number of popular uprisings. The mosque was heavily inspired by Iranian models. Philae This plate is taken from a set of engravings dedicated to the Temple of Isis on the island of Philae. The final bastion of the worship of the ancient Egyptian gods, the temple of Isis was the last pagan temple to be in use before it was closed in the 6th century A.D. under Justinian. Construction on the temple began under the Ptolemies, a period of growth for the Isis cult. Isis was the sister and wife of Osiris and mother to Horus. Kom Ombo (Ombos) The Kom Ombo site, 40 kilometers from Aswan, is home to one of the best preserved ancient Egyptian temples, dedicated to Sobek, a crocodile god and Haroeris, a form of Horus. Built in the Ptolemaic era, it was actually founded during the XVIIIth Dynasty. Its massive Composite capitals and highly accomplished reliefs are captured accurately by the draughtsmen of the Institut d'Egypte, Jollois, Balzac and Cécile. The dual aspect of its design, intended for worship of two different divine triads - those of Sobek and Haroeris - is reproduced in great detail by the architects and engineers of the Egyptian campaign through this set of prints, which preceded the first archeological digs in the building by Auguste Mariette in 1828. Edfu This plate is taken from a series of views of the great temple at Edfu and the various buildings in its cultic complex. The temple of Horus, a jewel of Ptolemaic architecture and exceptionally well-preserved, is made up of a majestic entry gate and a hypostyle chamber, which are both extensively documented thanks to the engravings by the experts of the Institut d'Egypte. Begun in 237 BC by Ptolemy III and completed 180 years later under Tiberius, it proved an extraordinary sight for the draughtsmen come to explore the left bank of the Nile. Esna and its environs The town of Esna (Esneh or Latopolis in Bonaparte's time), lies fifty kilometers to the south of Luxor. The experts from the Institut de l'Egypte documented their discovery of its temple, dedicated to Khnum, one of the gods of creation who worked with clay and had the head of a ram; he controlled the life-giving flooding of the Nile, the source of fertility. He was associated with Nebt-uu, the mistress of the countryside and Menhyt, a goddess with the head of a lion. This temple, partially rebuilt during the Ptolemaic era, was added to right up to the reign of Tiberius. The draughtsmen also produced a number of views of the neighboring temples, most notably the less well-preserved temple of Contra-Latopolis to the north of Esna. Thebes Medinet-Habu Close to Thebes and Luxor on the left bank of the Nile, the city of Medinet-Habu is home to one of the most attractive temples of New Kingdom period Egypt, the mortuary temple of Ramses III. This dates from the middle of the 12th century BC, and is based on the famous Ramesseum of his predecessor, which it surpasses in size. A funerary temple celebrating the Pharaoh, the experts of the Institut d'Egypte set about creating cross-sections, plans and elevations, and most especially capturing its numerous bas-reliefs. The architects and draughtsmen also focused on the Royal Palace and its internal peristyle within the 12-metre fortress that encircles the religious complex, including the Temple of Amon, located at the south-east of the site and begun in the reign of Hatshepsut at the end of the 15th Century BC. Memnonium The Memnonium, a name used by visitors to the Valley of the Kings from 1750 to 1850, refers to a set of three royal buildings constructed during the New Kingdom: the Ramesseum, the Temple of Amenhotep III and the Temple of Sethi I. The draughtsmen and architects of Bonaparte's Institut, sent out on expedition across Upper Egypt from 1799 documented Thebes and the Valley of the Kings, even attempting to reconstruct some of the buildings on the basis of descriptions by Classical authors. The tomb of Ozymandias (one of the numerous names of Ramses II), in a very poor state, thus became the subject of very thorough study and an attempt to fill in its missing bits on the basis of the writings of Diodurus Siculus. This Greek historian of the Augustine period stayed in the valley of the Nile from 60-57 BC and his visit to the tomb of Ramses II is recounted in his monumental Bibliotheca Historica (Book I, XLVII-XLIX).At the same time, the experts also made extremely detailed studies and views of the Colossi of Memnon, all that remains of a huge memorial temple to Amenhotep III built on the road to the necropolis in the Valley of the Kings. These colossi were located at the entrance to the temple in front of a preliminary pylon made of brick. These two statues represent King Amenhotep III framed to the right by the great Royal Consort Tiy and to the left by the Queen Mother Mutemwiya. Hypogea and Biban el Moluk This plate is taken from a series of engravings of the hypogea in the Valley of the Kings (Biban el Moluk) in Thebes. Some are in color to show the vivid hues of the sarcophaguses and mysterious murals whose secret had yet to be broken by Jean-François Champollion. The draughtsmen of the Institut, including the famous Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, sent by Napoleon to cover Upper Egypt in 1799, capture with élan the royal mummies and the artifacts that accompanied the dead in their journey to the netherworld: urns, furniture, weapons, idols and the mummies of numerous mammals and birds. Karnak This plate is from a set on the Great Temple at Karnak, built during the New Kingdom at the time of Ramses III. This enormous complex is divided into three parts and is dedicated to the Theban Triad of gods, Amun, Mut and Khonsu. Its sculptures, internal bas-reliefs and sunken reliefs on the external facades are intricately captured by the engineers of the Institut, while the architects worked out the complex groundplan of this edifice, which was divided into facades, colonnaded halls and sacral spaces reserved for the temple priests. The alley of the monumental sphinx which links the site to the Luxor site was also the subject of a plate by Lepère, an architect from the Institut who took part in the expedition across Upper Egypt. Dendera The experts executed views and drawings of the temples of Dendera (or Tentyra), a city in Upper Egypt 60km to the north of Luxor. They have captured, with an exceptional degree of graphic artistry, the thick, round nature of the sculpted reliefs of the great Temple of Hathor, built under the Ptolemies in the first half of the 1st century BC. They also produced interesting views of the neighboring temples as well as a selection of reliefs of the ""Dendera Zodiac"", a chapel dedicated to Osiris and located beneath the temple of Hathor. Its famous astronomical relief was discovered by the French General Desaix - stationed in Upper Egypt by Bonaparte from 1798 - and taken back to France in 1821 by Claude Lelorrain; it is now on display in the Louvre. Another astronomical and cosmological relief on the ceiling of the hypostyle hall of the Temple of Hathor is the subject of a magnificent plate by Jollois and Devilliers. This covers seven soffit coffers of the ceiling and is an immense allegorical image showing several levels of consciousness: that of cosmogony, the constellations and their effect on the Earth, the creation of Man, and the Nomes of Egypt, symbolized by 21 pairs of wings topped with the red crown of Lower Egypt and the white tiara of Upper Egypt. The Pyramids at Memphis The Giza Plateau, near Memphis, is home to three of the most famous Ancient Egyptian Pyramids, the tombs of Cheops, Khafre and Menkaure, Pharaohs of the 4th Dynasty (2620-2500 BC). The experts of the Institut, hurrying to Memphis, explored the plateau and made numerous views of these majestic pyramids, towering over inhabitants and mounted figures. They also made minutely detailed views of the epigraphs on the tombs adjacent to the pyramids, as well as views of the Sphinx of Gaza near the Pyramid of Khafre. Views of Alexandria A plate taken from a set of view of Alexandria as it was found by Napoleon's army in June 1798. Embarking in Toulon on the 14th May, his troops disembarked at Alexandria a month later and explored this port city before heading towards Cairo to take the capital. " Imprimerie Impériale Paris _1809-1829 "70x53,5cm" une feuille‎

‎"DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE. Achmouneyn (Hermopolis magna). Vue du portique prise du côté du sud. (ANTIQUITES, volume IV, planche 51)"‎

‎" - Imprimerie Impériale, Paris 1809-1829, 70x51,5cm, une feuille. - Gravure originale à l'eau-forte in plano, non rognée, extraite de l'édition dite « Impériale » de la Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand. Réalisée entre février 1802 et 1829 sur ordre de Napoléon Bonaparte et publiée à partir de 1809 [en réalité 1810], elle fut tirée à 1000 exemplaires sur Vergé filigrané « Égypte ancienne et moderne » et offerte aux institutions. Vue romantique des ruines du portique du temple d'Achmouneyn, l'une des plus importantes villes de moyenne Egypte placée sous l'égide d'Hermes (Thot égyptien). Ce portique composé de douze colonnes est orné d'une décoration typiquement égyptienne avec des hiéroglyphes à l'abaque et sur la frise de la corniche. Tout autour on aperçoit les officiers de l'armée napoléonienne et un ingénieur commençant son relevé : ces personnages donnent l'échelle de cette construction monumentale. Au loin s'étendent des espaces désertiques où sont ensevelis les décombres de la ville antique. Infimes rousseurs marginales n'affectant pas du tout la planche, sinon excellent état de fraîcheur et de conservation. Volume ANTIQUITES, IV : Ces gravures fournissent à Jean-François Champollion une documentation épigraphique fondamentale pour le déchiffrage des hiéroglyphes et inspirent une lignée d'archéologues comme Mariette, Maspero et Carter qui donnent un nouveau visage à l'Egypte ancienne. Elles suscitent un engouement tel qu'elles donnent naissance au phénomène de l'égyptomanie et à l'orientalisme de Delacroix, Fromentin, Marilhat, Decamps mais aussi Théophile Gautier... Financiers, politiciens, marchands, et fouilleurs de tous ordres se presseront sur les rives du Nil en quête de bonnes affaires à la suite de cette redécouverte de l'Egypte. A l'origine de l'égyptologie, ces planches connaîtront une postérité immense. LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, édition IMPERIALE (1809-1829) : La Description de l'Egypte est un des chefs d'uvre de l'édition française et le point de départ d'une nouvelle science : l'égyptologie. Titanesque exposé de l'Egypte au temps des conquêtes de Bonaparte entre 1798 et 1799, elle est répartie en 23 volumes dont 13 volumes de gravures rassemblant près de 1000 planches en noir et 72 en couleur. Les 6 volumes de planches intitulées Antiquités sont consacrés aux splendeurs de l'Egypte pharaonique. L'Histoire naturelle est répartie en 3 volumes de gravures. Un volume est consacré aux Cartes géographiques et topographiques tandis que les 3 volumes : Etat Moderne dressent un portrait saisissant de l'Egypte copte et islamique telle qu'elle était vue par les armées d'Orient de Bonaparte. La « campagne d'Egypte », désastre militaire, dévoile à travers les gravures de la Description de l'Egypte la réussite scientifique qu'elle est devenue, grâce aux quelques 167 savants membres de la Commission des sciences et des arts de l'Institut d'Egypte qui suivaient l'armée de Napoléon. L'Institut a réuni en Egypte le mathématicien Monge, le chimiste Berthollet, le naturaliste Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ainsi que de nombreux artistes, ingénieurs, architectes, médecins... Ils eurent la charge de redécouvrir l'Egypte moderne et antique, d'en montrer les richesses naturelles, et le savoir-faire de ses habitants. L'édition originale, dite « Impériale », de la Description de l'Egypte fut réalisée sur quatre formats de grande taille, deux d'entre eux spécialement créés pour elle et baptisés formats « Moyen-Egypte » et « Grand-Egypte ». On construisit une presse spécifique pour son impression, qui s'étala sur vingt ans, entre 1809 et 1829. L'édition Impériale s'avéra si populaire qu'une deuxième édition en 37 volumes entièrement en noir et sans le filigrane « Egypte ancienne et moderne », dite édition « Panckoucke », fut publiée à partir de 1821 par l'imprimerie C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). La réalisation de ce monument d'érudition doit beaucoup au baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrateur, diplomate, collectionneur et par la suite directeur du musée Napoléon du Louvre qui accompagna Napoléon en Egypte avec de nombreux autres savants mais décida seul de s'aventurer dans le Sud du pays, alors que les autres scientifiques conviés restaient confinés dans la région du Caire. Les fabuleux croquis rapportés par Denon lors de sa romanesque chevauchée donnèrent l'idée à Bonaparte d'y envoyer les autres membres de l'Institut et ainsi dresser un portrait fidèle et complet du territoire. A la suite de Denon, ce sont donc les plus grands scientifiques et artistes français qui s'aventurèrent le long du Nil jusqu'en Nubie. Parmi eux, le peintre au muséum d'histoire naturelle H.J. Redouté (frère de Pierre-Joseph Redouté, auteur des Roses), le minéralogiste Dolomieu, le dessinateur Joly, et les ingénieurs Fourier et Costaz, chargés de l'étude scientifique des vestiges antiques de Haute-Egypte. Sans doute pour la première fois réunie dans une telle expédition, l'élite scientifique et artistique française, composée de plus de 160 « savants » dont près de 50 artistes, étudie méthodiquement l'Egypte pendant trois ans. Ils réalisent alors, sous l'égide et à la gloire de Napoléon, la plus vaste analyse historique, géographique, scientifique, économique et ethnologique jamais réalisée sur un pays. Mais ce sont peut-être les gravures qui constituèrent le défi technique majeur de cette Description de l'Egypte, comme en témoigne Yves Laissus, commissaire de l'exposition organisée en 2009 par la RMN et le Musée de l'Armée aux Invalides : « L'illustration, 836 planches dont une soixantaine en couleurs, gravées à l'eau forte et au burin dans des formats jusqu'alors inusités (le plus grand couvre près d'un mètre carré), a nécessité la construction de nouvelles formes et cuves pour la fabrication du papier, justifié l'invention, par Nicolas Conté, d'une machine destinée à alléger la besogne des graveurs, et exigé la réalisation de nouvelles presses capables d'imprimer ces images immenses. Certaines d'entre elles ont demandé deux années de travail. Près de 200 graveurs ont reproduit sur le cuivre les uvres de 62 dessinateurs dont 46 ont participé à l'expédition. » Rare et superbe gravure originale d'une exceptionnelle facture et qualité graphique, témoignage d'une des plus ambitieuses aventures éditoriales françaises. - Photos sur www.Edition-originale.com - [AUTOMATIC ENGLISH TRANSLATION FOLLOWS] Original, unshaved, full-page etching from the ""Imperial edition"" of the Description de l'Égypte, or 'Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand [A Collection of the observations and research carried out in Egypt during the French expedition, published on the orders of his Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great]'. Produced between February 1802 and 1830 on the orders of Naopleon Bonaparte and published between 1809 and 1828, 1,000 copies were printed and distributed to institutions, on vergé paper with an 'Égypte ancienne et moderne' watermark, visible when held up to the light. Light marginal spotting not touching image, otherwise in very fresh, fine condition. An engraving from the Description de l'Egypte, one of the masterpieces of French printing and the birth of a new field: Egyptology. A gigantic survey of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests in 1798 and 1799, the work is divided into 13 volumes of engravings making up 892 plates, of which 72 colored, as well as presenting the splendors of the Egypt of the Pharaohs in 9 volumes. The other volumes discuss natural history and present a fascinating portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's Eastern Armies. The 'Egyptian campaign', militarily a disaster, demonstrates, through the engravings of the Description d'Egypte, the scientific success it nonetheless became thanks to the 167 expert members of the Commission of the Sciences and Arts of the Institut d'Egypte [Egyptian Institute] who followed Napoleon's army. The Institut gathered together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects and doctors. They were tasked with re-discovering modern and ancient Egypt and displaying its natural treasures as well as the know-how of its inhabitants. This edition, the so-called ""Imperial"" edition of the plates for the Description de l'Egypte was printed in four large formats, two of which were specially created for it and christened ""Moyen-Egypte"" and ""Grand-Egypte"". A special press was built to print it, the process extending over 20 years, from 1809 to 1829. The ""Imperial"" edition proved so popular that a second edition, this time in black and white and without the ""Egypte ancienne et moderne"" watermark - known as the ""Royal Edition"" - was published during the Restoration by the printing house of C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). The engravings of the Description d'Egypte owe a great deal to Baron Dominique-Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later Director of the Musée Napoléon (the Louvre). His exploration of the South of Egypt gave Bonaparte the idea of sending the experts of the Institut there, thus creating a faithful and complete portrait of the area. This was the research gathered together from 1802 in the mammoth Description de L'Egypte. Denon embarked on this story of archeological exploration at the age of 51, reaching first Alexandria and then Cairo before exploring Upper Egypt. Along with the members of the Institut d'Egypte, the Natural History Museum's painter H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of Roses), the mineralogist Dolomiue, and the draughtsman Joly, Denon then explored the Nile Delta and Lower Egypt. When, however, he joined the 21st Light Infantry Regiment as it marched across Upper Egypt in pursuit of the retreating Mameluks in November 1798, he found himself the only civilian. In the very midst of the battle itself, he reeled off sketches of the works of art that peppered his path right up to the threshold of the Sudan. He said that he had crossed ""a country that is, apart from its name, entirely unknown to Europeans, and therefore everything was worth describing"" (Voyages dans la Basse et la Haute Egypte pendant les campagnes de Bonaparte en 1798 et 1799, 1817). On his return to Cairo, the great general, spellbound by Denon's accounts and drawings ordered two commissions to be set up, led by the engineers Fourier and Costaz. They were tasked with the scientific study of the ancient remains in Upper Egypt; research that proved a significant contribution to the monumental Description d'Egypte, from which this plate is taken. ANCIENT EGYPTThese engravings therefore represent a unique body of material that contributed to Jean-François Champollion's deciphering of hieroglyphics, and which mark the beginning of the line of Mariette, Maspero and Carter, who would reshape the face of Ancient Egypt. They also started a craze that gave birth to the phenomenon of Egyptomania and the Orientalism of Delacroix, Fromentin, Marilhat, Decamps and Théophile Gautier. Financiers, politicians, merchants and all kinds of treasure-hunters made their way to the banks of the Nile in search of riches, following this rediscovery of Egypt. The originators of Egyptology, these plates were to have a hugely influential afterlife. NATURAL HISTORYThese engravings show the scientific genius of the French experts then working on the ground in Egypt, laying the foundations for its becoming a French colony. This colonizing project, which had been mooted since the reign of Louis XIV, was now accompanied - with Bonaparte's arrival - by an in-depth study of the country's fauna and flora thanks to the work of the most eminent naturalists, mineralogists, and entomologists of the day. The Description de l'Egypte shows all of this immense scientific undertaking through its engravings, which were done after drawings by members of the Academy of Science, including Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hillaire, Alire Raffenau-Delile and Henri-Joseph Redouté. In the words of Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ""We have gathered the material for the greatest work that a nation could hope to undertake. In mourning the fate of so many brave soldiers who - after so many glorious exploits - fell in Egypt, we shall be able to console ourselves that such precious works came into being."" MODERN EGYPTThe genius of the experts of the Institut d'Egypte is revealed in the plates of the section known as ""Modern Egypte"". Architecture, industry, social organization, conditions of health, irrigation, music, and crafts, are all presented with exceptional precision and powers of description. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie runs through the work of the draughtsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompanied the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, undertaking to produce a portrait of the local population that was imbued with both beauty and respect. Wealthy Pashas and simple artisan potters are sensitively represented here, going about their business in beautifully composed images that nonetheless do not fall into the traps of idealism or caricature. ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE (the ""Cairo"" plates) The set of engravings to which this plate belongs constitutes one of the first complete studies of the monuments of Islamic Egypt in Cairo, bringing together maps, sections and elevations of mosques, mausoleums and fortifications, from the Tulunid era in the 9th century up to the Mameluk constructions contemporaneous with the arrival of the Bonapartist troops. At the same time, the architects and engineers of the Institut d'Egypte also made a big series of plates dedicated to civilian housing and edifices in Cairo, including both grander and more modest constructions, providing a precious picture of life in Cairo at the end of the 19th century. BAB AL FOUTOUH Bab el-Foutouh, "" The Conquest Gate"" marks the northern limit of Fatimid old Cairo. Rebuilt in 1087, it is highly defensive in nature owing to the turbulent climate in 11th Century Cairo, which saw a number of popular uprisings. An imposing gate, it has two semicircular towers with low-slung arches made of heavy blocks of stone anchored within the ramparts. The sizeable passage through the gate (4.85m wide by 6.79m high) has a shallow dome. BAB EL NASR Bab el-Nasr, ""The Victory Gate"" is on the northern wall of the Fatimid fortress in Cairo. Its two enormous rectangular towers were rebuilt in 1087 after a long period of popular uprisings. On this highly attractive frontal image signed Protain, one can admire the sculpted shields in the corners of the gate and on the towers, symbolizing victory and protection against invaders. After taking Cairo, Napoleon named all the towers along the wall of the fortress after the officers assigned to guard them. Their names are still engraved on the upper parts of the walls of the gate. SULTAN HASSAN MOSQUEThe massive architectural complex constructed by Sultan Hassan at the foot of the citadel in Cairo was built in the ostentatious style so characteristic of Mameluk architecture. Completed in 1356, the Sultan Hassan Mosque has a monumental gate and a 57m high minaret. This group of buildings, comprising a mausoleum that was never put to use, was strategically built on the site of a square that saw the start of a number of popular uprisings. The mosque was heavily inspired by Iranian models. Philae This plate is taken from a set of engravings dedicated to the Temple of Isis on the island of Philae. The final bastion of the worship of the ancient Egyptian gods, the temple of Isis was the last pagan temple to be in use before it was closed in the 6th century A.D. under Justinian. Construction on the temple began under the Ptolemies, a period of growth for the Isis cult. Isis was the sister and wife of Osiris and mother to Horus. Kom Ombo (Ombos) The Kom Ombo site, 40 kilometers from Aswan, is home to one of the best preserved ancient Egyptian temples, dedicated to Sobek, a crocodile god and Haroeris, a form of Horus. Built in the Ptolemaic era, it was actually founded during the XVIIIth Dynasty. Its massive Composite capitals and highly accomplished reliefs are captured accurately by the draughtsmen of the Institut d'Egypte, Jollois, Balzac and Cécile. The dual aspect of its design, intended for worship of two different divine triads - those of Sobek and Haroeris - is reproduced in great detail by the architects and engineers of the Egyptian campaign through this set of prints, which preceded the first archeological digs in the building by Auguste Mariette in 1828. Edfu This plate is taken from a series of views of the great temple at Edfu and the various buildings in its cultic complex. The temple of Horus, a jewel of Ptolemaic architecture and exceptionally well-preserved, is made up of a majestic entry gate and a hypostyle chamber, which are both extensively documented thanks to the engravings by the experts of the Institut d'Egypte. Begun in 237 BC by Ptolemy III and completed 180 years later under Tiberius, it proved an extraordinary sight for the draughtsmen come to explore the left bank of the Nile. Esna and its environs The town of Esna (Esneh or Latopolis in Bonaparte's time), lies fifty kilometers to the south of Luxor. The experts from the Institut de l'Egypte documented their discovery of its temple, dedicated to Khnum, one of the gods of creation who worked with clay and had the head of a ram; he controlled the life-giving flooding of the Nile, the source of fertility. He was associated with Nebt-uu, the mistress of the countryside and Menhyt, a goddess with the head of a lion. This temple, partially rebuilt during the Ptolemaic era, was added to right up to the reign of Tiberius. The draughtsmen also produced a number of views of the neighboring temples, most notably the less well-preserved temple of Contra-Latopolis to the north of Esna. Thebes Medinet-Habu Close to Thebes and Luxor on the left bank of the Nile, the city of Medinet-Habu is home to one of the most attractive temples of New Kingdom period Egypt, the mortuary temple of Ramses III. This dates from the middle of the 12th century BC, and is based on the famous Ramesseum of his predecessor, which it surpasses in size. A funerary temple celebrating the Pharaoh, the experts of the Institut d'Egypte set about creating cross-sections, plans and elevations, and most especially capturing its numerous bas-reliefs. The architects and draughtsmen also focused on the Royal Palace and its internal peristyle within the 12-metre fortress that encircles the religious complex, including the Temple of Amon, located at the south-east of the site and begun in the reign of Hatshepsut at the end of the 15th Century BC. Memnonium The Memnonium, a name used by visitors to the Valley of the Kings from 1750 to 1850, refers to a set of three royal buildings constructed during the New Kingdom: the Ramesseum, the Temple of Amenhotep III and the Temple of Sethi I. The draughtsmen and architects of Bonaparte's Institut, sent out on expedition across Upper Egypt from 1799 documented Thebes and the Valley of the Kings, even attempting to reconstruct some of the buildings on the basis of descriptions by Classical authors. The tomb of Ozymandias (one of the numerous names of Ramses II), in a very poor state, thus became the subject of very thorough study and an attempt to fill in its missing bits on the basis of the writings of Diodurus Siculus. This Greek historian of the Augustine period stayed in the valley of the Nile from 60-57 BC and his visit to the tomb of Ramses II is recounted in his monumental Bibliotheca Historica (Book I, XLVII-XLIX).At the same time, the experts also made extremely detailed studies and views of the Colossi of Memnon, all that remains of a huge memorial temple to Amenhotep III built on the road to the necropolis in the Valley of the Kings. These colossi were located at the entrance to the temple in front of a preliminary pylon made of brick. These two statues represent King Amenhotep III framed to the right by the great Royal Consort Tiy and to the left by the Queen Mother Mutemwiya. Hypogea and Biban el Moluk This plate is taken from a series of engravings of the hypogea in the Valley of the Kings (Biban el Moluk) in Thebes. Some are in color to show the vivid hues of the sarcophaguses and mysterious murals whose secret had yet to be broken by Jean-François Champollion. The draughtsmen of the Institut, including the famous Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, sent by Napoleon to cover Upper Egypt in 1799, capture with élan the royal mummies and the artifacts that accompanied the dead in their journey to the netherworld: urns, furniture, weapons, idols and the mummies of numerous mammals and birds. Karnak This plate is from a set on the Great Temple at Karnak, built during the New Kingdom at the time of Ramses III. This enormous complex is divided into three parts and is dedicated to the Theban Triad of gods, Amun, Mut and Khonsu. Its sculptures, internal bas-reliefs and sunken reliefs on the external facades are intricately captured by the engineers of the Institut, while the architects worked out the complex groundplan of this edifice, which was divided into facades, colonnaded halls and sacral spaces reserved for the temple priests. The alley of the monumental sphinx which links the site to the Luxor site was also the subject of a plate by Lepère, an architect from the Institut who took part in the expedition across Upper Egypt. Dendera The experts executed views and drawings of the temples of Dendera (or Tentyra), a city in Upper Egypt 60km to the north of Luxor. They have captured, with an exceptional degree of graphic artistry, the thick, round nature of the sculpted reliefs of the great Temple of Hathor, built under the Ptolemies in the first half of the 1st century BC. They also produced interesting views of the neighboring temples as well as a selection of reliefs of the ""Dendera Zodiac"", a chapel dedicated to Osiris and located beneath the temple of Hathor. Its famous astronomical relief was discovered by the French General Desaix - stationed in Upper Egypt by Bonaparte from 1798 - and taken back to France in 1821 by Claude Lelorrain; it is now on display in the Louvre. Another astronomical and cosmological relief on the ceiling of the hypostyle hall of the Temple of Hathor is the subject of a magnificent plate by Jollois and Devilliers. This covers seven soffit coffers of the ceiling and is an immense allegorical image showing several levels of consciousness: that of cosmogony, the constellations and their effect on the Earth, the creation of Man, and the Nomes of Egypt, symbolized by 21 pairs of wings topped with the red crown of Lower Egypt and the white tiara of Upper Egypt. The Pyramids at Memphis The Giza Plateau, near Memphis, is home to three of the most famous Ancient Egyptian Pyramids, the tombs of Cheops, Khafre and Menkaure, Pharaohs of the 4th Dynasty (2620-2500 BC). The experts of the Institut, hurrying to Memphis, explored the plateau and made numerous views of these majestic pyramids, towering over inhabitants and mounted figures. They also made minutely detailed views of the epigraphs on the tombs adjacent to the pyramids, as well as views of the Sphinx of Gaza near the Pyramid of Khafre. Views of Alexandria A plate taken from a set of view of Alexandria as it was found by Napoleon's army in June 1798. Embarking in Toulon on the 14th May, his troops disembarked at Alexandria a month later and explored this port city before heading towards Cairo to take the capital. " Imprimerie Impériale Paris _1809-1829 "70x51,5cm" une feuille‎

‎"DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE. Edfou (Apollinopolis magna). Bas-reliefs et détails du grand temple. (ANTIQUITES, volume I, planche 59)"‎

‎" - Imprimerie Impériale, Paris 1809-1829, 71x54cm, une feuille. - Gravure originale à l'eau-forte in plano, non rognée, extraite de l'édition dite « Impériale » de la Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand. Réalisée entre février 1802 et 1829 sur ordre de Napoléon Bonaparte et publiée à partir de 1809 [en réalité 1810], elle fut tirée à 1000 exemplaires sur Vergé filigrané « Égypte ancienne et moderne » et offerte aux institutions. Légères et marginales rousseurs sans aucune atteinte à la gravure, sinon très bel état de fraîcheur et de conservation. EDFOU : Planche issue d'une série de vues du grand temple d'Edfou et des constructions de son complexe religieux. Le temple d'Horus, fleuron de l'architecture ptolémaïque et exceptionnellement bien conservé, se compose d'un majestueux portique d'entrée, d'une salle hypostyle, tous deux abondamment documentés grâce aux gravures des savants de l'Institut d'Egypte. Commencé en 237 avant notre ère par Ptolémée III et fini 180 ans plus tard sous Tibère, il offre une vue spectaculaire aux dessinateurs venus explorer la rive gauche du Nil. Volume ANTIQUITES, I : Ces gravures fournissent à Jean-François Champollion une documentation épigraphique fondamentale pour le déchiffrage des hiéroglyphes et inspirent une lignée d'archéologues comme Mariette, Maspero et Carter qui donnent un nouveau visage à l'Egypte ancienne. Elles suscitent un engouement tel qu'elles donnent naissance au phénomène de l'égyptomanie et à l'orientalisme de Delacroix, Fromentin, Marilhat, Decamps mais aussi Théophile Gautier... Financiers, politiciens, marchands, et fouilleurs de tous ordres se presseront sur les rives du Nil en quête de bonnes affaires à la suite de cette redécouverte de l'Egypte. A l'origine de l'égyptologie, ces planches connaîtront une postérité immense. LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, édition IMPERIALE (1809-1829) : La Description de l'Egypte est un des chefs d'uvre de l'édition française et le point de départ d'une nouvelle science : l'égyptologie. Titanesque exposé de l'Egypte au temps des conquêtes de Bonaparte entre 1798 et 1799, elle est répartie en 23 volumes dont 13 volumes de gravures rassemblant près de 1000 planches en noir et 72 en couleur. Les 6 volumes de planches intitulées Antiquités sont consacrés aux splendeurs de l'Egypte pharaonique. L'Histoire naturelle est répartie en 3 volumes de gravures. Un volume est consacré aux Cartes géographiques et topographiques tandis que les 3 volumes : Etat Moderne dressent un portrait saisissant de l'Egypte copte et islamique telle qu'elle était vue par les armées d'Orient de Bonaparte. La « campagne d'Egypte », désastre militaire, dévoile à travers les gravures de la Description de l'Egypte la réussite scientifique qu'elle est devenue, grâce aux quelques 167 savants membres de la Commission des sciences et des arts de l'Institut d'Egypte qui suivaient l'armée de Napoléon. L'Institut a réuni en Egypte le mathématicien Monge, le chimiste Berthollet, le naturaliste Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ainsi que de nombreux artistes, ingénieurs, architectes, médecins... Ils eurent la charge de redécouvrir l'Egypte moderne et antique, d'en montrer les richesses naturelles, et le savoir-faire de ses habitants. L'édition originale, dite « Impériale », de la Description de l'Egypte fut réalisée sur quatre formats de grande taille, deux d'entre eux spécialement créés pour elle et baptisés formats « Moyen-Egypte » et « Grand-Egypte ». On construisit une presse spécifique pour son impression, qui s'étala sur vingt ans, entre 1809 et 1829. L'édition Impériale s'avéra si populaire qu'une deuxième édition en 37 volumes entièrement en noir et sans le filigrane « Egypte ancienne et moderne », dite édition « Panckoucke », fut publiée à partir de 1821 par l'imprimerie C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). La réalisation de ce monument d'érudition doit beaucoup au baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrateur, diplomate, collectionneur et par la suite directeur du musée Napoléon du Louvre qui accompagna Napoléon en Egypte avec de nombreux autres savants mais décida seul de s'aventurer dans le Sud du pays, alors que les autres scientifiques conviés restaient confinés dans la région du Caire. Les fabuleux croquis rapportés par Denon lors de sa romanesque chevauchée donnèrent l'idée à Bonaparte d'y envoyer les autres membres de l'Institut et ainsi dresser un portrait fidèle et complet du territoire. A la suite de Denon, ce sont donc les plus grands scientifiques et artistes français qui s'aventurèrent le long du Nil jusqu'en Nubie. Parmi eux, le peintre au muséum d'histoire naturelle H.J. Redouté (frère de Pierre-Joseph Redouté, auteur des Roses), le minéralogiste Dolomieu, le dessinateur Joly, et les ingénieurs Fourier et Costaz, chargés de l'étude scientifique des vestiges antiques de Haute-Egypte. Sans doute pour la première fois réunie dans une telle expédition, l'élite scientifique et artistique française, composée de plus de 160 « savants » dont près de 50 artistes, étudie méthodiquement l'Egypte pendant trois ans. Ils réalisent alors, sous l'égide et à la gloire de Napoléon, la plus vaste analyse historique, géographique, scientifique, économique et ethnologique jamais réalisée sur un pays. Mais ce sont peut-être les gravures qui constituèrent le défi technique majeur de cette Description de l'Egypte, comme en témoigne Yves Laissus, commissaire de l'exposition organisée en 2009 par la RMN et le Musée de l'Armée aux Invalides : « L'illustration, 836 planches dont une soixantaine en couleurs, gravées à l'eau forte et au burin dans des formats jusqu'alors inusités (le plus grand couvre près d'un mètre carré), a nécessité la construction de nouvelles formes et cuves pour la fabrication du papier, justifié l'invention, par Nicolas Conté, d'une machine destinée à alléger la besogne des graveurs, et exigé la réalisation de nouvelles presses capables d'imprimer ces images immenses. Certaines d'entre elles ont demandé deux années de travail. Près de 200 graveurs ont reproduit sur le cuivre les uvres de 62 dessinateurs dont 46 ont participé à l'expédition. » Rare et superbe gravure originale d'une exceptionnelle facture et qualité graphique, témoignage d'une des plus ambitieuses aventures éditoriales françaises. - Photos sur www.Edition-originale.com - [AUTOMATIC ENGLISH TRANSLATION FOLLOWS] Original, unshaved, full-page etching from the ""Imperial edition"" of the Description de l'Égypte, or 'Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand [A Collection of the observations and research carried out in Egypt during the French expedition, published on the orders of his Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great]'. Produced between February 1802 and 1830 on the orders of Naopleon Bonaparte and published between 1809 and 1828, 1,000 copies were printed and distributed to institutions, on vergé paper with an 'Égypte ancienne et moderne' watermark, visible when held up to the light. Light marginal spotting not touching image, otherwise in very fresh, fine condition. An engraving from the Description de l'Egypte, one of the masterpieces of French printing and the birth of a new field: Egyptology. A gigantic survey of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests in 1798 and 1799, the work is divided into 13 volumes of engravings making up 892 plates, of which 72 colored, as well as presenting the splendors of the Egypt of the Pharaohs in 9 volumes. The other volumes discuss natural history and present a fascinating portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's Eastern Armies. The 'Egyptian campaign', militarily a disaster, demonstrates, through the engravings of the Description d'Egypte, the scientific success it nonetheless became thanks to the 167 expert members of the Commission of the Sciences and Arts of the Institut d'Egypte [Egyptian Institute] who followed Napoleon's army. The Institut gathered together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects and doctors. They were tasked with re-discovering modern and ancient Egypt and displaying its natural treasures as well as the know-how of its inhabitants. This edition, the so-called ""Imperial"" edition of the plates for the Description de l'Egypte was printed in four large formats, two of which were specially created for it and christened ""Moyen-Egypte"" and ""Grand-Egypte"". A special press was built to print it, the process extending over 20 years, from 1809 to 1829. The ""Imperial"" edition proved so popular that a second edition, this time in black and white and without the ""Egypte ancienne et moderne"" watermark - known as the ""Royal Edition"" - was published during the Restoration by the printing house of C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). The engravings of the Description d'Egypte owe a great deal to Baron Dominique-Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later Director of the Musée Napoléon (the Louvre). His exploration of the South of Egypt gave Bonaparte the idea of sending the experts of the Institut there, thus creating a faithful and complete portrait of the area. This was the research gathered together from 1802 in the mammoth Description de L'Egypte. Denon embarked on this story of archeological exploration at the age of 51, reaching first Alexandria and then Cairo before exploring Upper Egypt. Along with the members of the Institut d'Egypte, the Natural History Museum's painter H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of Roses), the mineralogist Dolomiue, and the draughtsman Joly, Denon then explored the Nile Delta and Lower Egypt. When, however, he joined the 21st Light Infantry Regiment as it marched across Upper Egypt in pursuit of the retreating Mameluks in November 1798, he found himself the only civilian. In the very midst of the battle itself, he reeled off sketches of the works of art that peppered his path right up to the threshold of the Sudan. He said that he had crossed ""a country that is, apart from its name, entirely unknown to Europeans, and therefore everything was worth describing"" (Voyages dans la Basse et la Haute Egypte pendant les campagnes de Bonaparte en 1798 et 1799, 1817). On his return to Cairo, the great general, spellbound by Denon's accounts and drawings ordered two commissions to be set up, led by the engineers Fourier and Costaz. They were tasked with the scientific study of the ancient remains in Upper Egypt; research that proved a significant contribution to the monumental Description d'Egypte, from which this plate is taken. ANCIENT EGYPTThese engravings therefore represent a unique body of material that contributed to Jean-François Champollion's deciphering of hieroglyphics, and which mark the beginning of the line of Mariette, Maspero and Carter, who would reshape the face of Ancient Egypt. They also started a craze that gave birth to the phenomenon of Egyptomania and the Orientalism of Delacroix, Fromentin, Marilhat, Decamps and Théophile Gautier. Financiers, politicians, merchants and all kinds of treasure-hunters made their way to the banks of the Nile in search of riches, following this rediscovery of Egypt. The originators of Egyptology, these plates were to have a hugely influential afterlife. NATURAL HISTORYThese engravings show the scientific genius of the French experts then working on the ground in Egypt, laying the foundations for its becoming a French colony. This colonizing project, which had been mooted since the reign of Louis XIV, was now accompanied - with Bonaparte's arrival - by an in-depth study of the country's fauna and flora thanks to the work of the most eminent naturalists, mineralogists, and entomologists of the day. The Description de l'Egypte shows all of this immense scientific undertaking through its engravings, which were done after drawings by members of the Academy of Science, including Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hillaire, Alire Raffenau-Delile and Henri-Joseph Redouté. In the words of Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ""We have gathered the material for the greatest work that a nation could hope to undertake. In mourning the fate of so many brave soldiers who - after so many glorious exploits - fell in Egypt, we shall be able to console ourselves that such precious works came into being."" MODERN EGYPTThe genius of the experts of the Institut d'Egypte is revealed in the plates of the section known as ""Modern Egypte"". Architecture, industry, social organization, conditions of health, irrigation, music, and crafts, are all presented with exceptional precision and powers of description. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie runs through the work of the draughtsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompanied the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, undertaking to produce a portrait of the local population that was imbued with both beauty and respect. Wealthy Pashas and simple artisan potters are sensitively represented here, going about their business in beautifully composed images that nonetheless do not fall into the traps of idealism or caricature. ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE (the ""Cairo"" plates) The set of engravings to which this plate belongs constitutes one of the first complete studies of the monuments of Islamic Egypt in Cairo, bringing together maps, sections and elevations of mosques, mausoleums and fortifications, from the Tulunid era in the 9th century up to the Mameluk constructions contemporaneous with the arrival of the Bonapartist troops. At the same time, the architects and engineers of the Institut d'Egypte also made a big series of plates dedicated to civilian housing and edifices in Cairo, including both grander and more modest constructions, providing a precious picture of life in Cairo at the end of the 19th century. BAB AL FOUTOUH Bab el-Foutouh, "" The Conquest Gate"" marks the northern limit of Fatimid old Cairo. Rebuilt in 1087, it is highly defensive in nature owing to the turbulent climate in 11th Century Cairo, which saw a number of popular uprisings. An imposing gate, it has two semicircular towers with low-slung arches made of heavy blocks of stone anchored within the ramparts. The sizeable passage through the gate (4.85m wide by 6.79m high) has a shallow dome. BAB EL NASR Bab el-Nasr, ""The Victory Gate"" is on the northern wall of the Fatimid fortress in Cairo. Its two enormous rectangular towers were rebuilt in 1087 after a long period of popular uprisings. On this highly attractive frontal image signed Protain, one can admire the sculpted shields in the corners of the gate and on the towers, symbolizing victory and protection against invaders. After taking Cairo, Napoleon named all the towers along the wall of the fortress after the officers assigned to guard them. Their names are still engraved on the upper parts of the walls of the gate. SULTAN HASSAN MOSQUEThe massive architectural complex constructed by Sultan Hassan at the foot of the citadel in Cairo was built in the ostentatious style so characteristic of Mameluk architecture. Completed in 1356, the Sultan Hassan Mosque has a monumental gate and a 57m high minaret. This group of buildings, comprising a mausoleum that was never put to use, was strategically built on the site of a square that saw the start of a number of popular uprisings. The mosque was heavily inspired by Iranian models. Philae This plate is taken from a set of engravings dedicated to the Temple of Isis on the island of Philae. The final bastion of the worship of the ancient Egyptian gods, the temple of Isis was the last pagan temple to be in use before it was closed in the 6th century A.D. under Justinian. Construction on the temple began under the Ptolemies, a period of growth for the Isis cult. Isis was the sister and wife of Osiris and mother to Horus. Kom Ombo (Ombos) The Kom Ombo site, 40 kilometers from Aswan, is home to one of the best preserved ancient Egyptian temples, dedicated to Sobek, a crocodile god and Haroeris, a form of Horus. Built in the Ptolemaic era, it was actually founded during the XVIIIth Dynasty. Its massive Composite capitals and highly accomplished reliefs are captured accurately by the draughtsmen of the Institut d'Egypte, Jollois, Balzac and Cécile. The dual aspect of its design, intended for worship of two different divine triads - those of Sobek and Haroeris - is reproduced in great detail by the architects and engineers of the Egyptian campaign through this set of prints, which preceded the first archeological digs in the building by Auguste Mariette in 1828. Edfu This plate is taken from a series of views of the great temple at Edfu and the various buildings in its cultic complex. The temple of Horus, a jewel of Ptolemaic architecture and exceptionally well-preserved, is made up of a majestic entry gate and a hypostyle chamber, which are both extensively documented thanks to the engravings by the experts of the Institut d'Egypte. Begun in 237 BC by Ptolemy III and completed 180 years later under Tiberius, it proved an extraordinary sight for the draughtsmen come to explore the left bank of the Nile. Esna and its environs The town of Esna (Esneh or Latopolis in Bonaparte's time), lies fifty kilometers to the south of Luxor. The experts from the Institut de l'Egypte documented their discovery of its temple, dedicated to Khnum, one of the gods of creation who worked with clay and had the head of a ram; he controlled the life-giving flooding of the Nile, the source of fertility. He was associated with Nebt-uu, the mistress of the countryside and Menhyt, a goddess with the head of a lion. This temple, partially rebuilt during the Ptolemaic era, was added to right up to the reign of Tiberius. The draughtsmen also produced a number of views of the neighboring temples, most notably the less well-preserved temple of Contra-Latopolis to the north of Esna. Thebes Medinet-Habu Close to Thebes and Luxor on the left bank of the Nile, the city of Medinet-Habu is home to one of the most attractive temples of New Kingdom period Egypt, the mortuary temple of Ramses III. This dates from the middle of the 12th century BC, and is based on the famous Ramesseum of his predecessor, which it surpasses in size. A funerary temple celebrating the Pharaoh, the experts of the Institut d'Egypte set about creating cross-sections, plans and elevations, and most especially capturing its numerous bas-reliefs. The architects and draughtsmen also focused on the Royal Palace and its internal peristyle within the 12-metre fortress that encircles the religious complex, including the Temple of Amon, located at the south-east of the site and begun in the reign of Hatshepsut at the end of the 15th Century BC. Memnonium The Memnonium, a name used by visitors to the Valley of the Kings from 1750 to 1850, refers to a set of three royal buildings constructed during the New Kingdom: the Ramesseum, the Temple of Amenhotep III and the Temple of Sethi I. The draughtsmen and architects of Bonaparte's Institut, sent out on expedition across Upper Egypt from 1799 documented Thebes and the Valley of the Kings, even attempting to reconstruct some of the buildings on the basis of descriptions by Classical authors. The tomb of Ozymandias (one of the numerous names of Ramses II), in a very poor state, thus became the subject of very thorough study and an attempt to fill in its missing bits on the basis of the writings of Diodurus Siculus. This Greek historian of the Augustine period stayed in the valley of the Nile from 60-57 BC and his visit to the tomb of Ramses II is recounted in his monumental Bibliotheca Historica (Book I, XLVII-XLIX).At the same time, the experts also made extremely detailed studies and views of the Colossi of Memnon, all that remains of a huge memorial temple to Amenhotep III built on the road to the necropolis in the Valley of the Kings. These colossi were located at the entrance to the temple in front of a preliminary pylon made of brick. These two statues represent King Amenhotep III framed to the right by the great Royal Consort Tiy and to the left by the Queen Mother Mutemwiya. Hypogea and Biban el Moluk This plate is taken from a series of engravings of the hypogea in the Valley of the Kings (Biban el Moluk) in Thebes. Some are in color to show the vivid hues of the sarcophaguses and mysterious murals whose secret had yet to be broken by Jean-François Champollion. The draughtsmen of the Institut, including the famous Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, sent by Napoleon to cover Upper Egypt in 1799, capture with élan the royal mummies and the artifacts that accompanied the dead in their journey to the netherworld: urns, furniture, weapons, idols and the mummies of numerous mammals and birds. Karnak This plate is from a set on the Great Temple at Karnak, built during the New Kingdom at the time of Ramses III. This enormous complex is divided into three parts and is dedicated to the Theban Triad of gods, Amun, Mut and Khonsu. Its sculptures, internal bas-reliefs and sunken reliefs on the external facades are intricately captured by the engineers of the Institut, while the architects worked out the complex groundplan of this edifice, which was divided into facades, colonnaded halls and sacral spaces reserved for the temple priests. The alley of the monumental sphinx which links the site to the Luxor site was also the subject of a plate by Lepère, an architect from the Institut who took part in the expedition across Upper Egypt. Dendera The experts executed views and drawings of the temples of Dendera (or Tentyra), a city in Upper Egypt 60km to the north of Luxor. They have captured, with an exceptional degree of graphic artistry, the thick, round nature of the sculpted reliefs of the great Temple of Hathor, built under the Ptolemies in the first half of the 1st century BC. They also produced interesting views of the neighboring temples as well as a selection of reliefs of the ""Dendera Zodiac"", a chapel dedicated to Osiris and located beneath the temple of Hathor. Its famous astronomical relief was discovered by the French General Desaix - stationed in Upper Egypt by Bonaparte from 1798 - and taken back to France in 1821 by Claude Lelorrain; it is now on display in the Louvre. Another astronomical and cosmological relief on the ceiling of the hypostyle hall of the Temple of Hathor is the subject of a magnificent plate by Jollois and Devilliers. This covers seven soffit coffers of the ceiling and is an immense allegorical image showing several levels of consciousness: that of cosmogony, the constellations and their effect on the Earth, the creation of Man, and the Nomes of Egypt, symbolized by 21 pairs of wings topped with the red crown of Lower Egypt and the white tiara of Upper Egypt. The Pyramids at Memphis The Giza Plateau, near Memphis, is home to three of the most famous Ancient Egyptian Pyramids, the tombs of Cheops, Khafre and Menkaure, Pharaohs of the 4th Dynasty (2620-2500 BC). The experts of the Institut, hurrying to Memphis, explored the plateau and made numerous views of these majestic pyramids, towering over inhabitants and mounted figures. They also made minutely detailed views of the epigraphs on the tombs adjacent to the pyramids, as well as views of the Sphinx of Gaza near the Pyramid of Khafre. Views of Alexandria A plate taken from a set of view of Alexandria as it was found by Napoleon's army in June 1798. Embarking in Toulon on the 14th May, his troops disembarked at Alexandria a month later and explored this port city before heading towards Cairo to take the capital. " Imprimerie Impériale Paris _1809-1829 71x54cm une feuille‎

‎"DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE. Ile d'Eléphantine. Bas-reliefs du temple du sud. (ANTIQUITES, volume I, planche 37)"‎

‎" - Imprimerie Impériale, Paris 1809-1829, 54x71cm, une feuille. - Gravure originale à l'eau-forte in plano, non rognée, extraite de l'édition dite « Impériale » de la Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand. Réalisée entre février 1802 et 1829 sur ordre de Napoléon Bonaparte et publiée à partir de 1809 [en réalité 1810], elle fut tirée à 1000 exemplaires sur Vergé filigrané « Égypte ancienne et moderne » et offerte aux institutions. Légères et marginales rousseurs sans aucune atteinte à la gravure, sinon très bel état de fraîcheur et de conservation. ILE D'ELEPHANTINE : Située sur la rive orientale du Nil en face d'Assouan, l'île d'Eléphantine servait de forteresse contre les invasions éthiopiennes. La découverte d'un ensemble de onze papyrus à Eléphantine même révéla que l'île abritait dès le Ve siècle une importante colonie juive, qui possédait un temple à Yahvé. Les savants de l'Institut d'Egypte se penchèrent sur le temple au sud de l'île, en bel état de conservation, qui surplombe toujours la falaise de nos jours. Volume ANTIQUITES, I : Ces gravures fournissent à Jean-François Champollion une documentation épigraphique fondamentale pour le déchiffrage des hiéroglyphes et inspirent une lignée d'archéologues comme Mariette, Maspero et Carter qui donnent un nouveau visage à l'Egypte ancienne. Elles suscitent un engouement tel qu'elles donnent naissance au phénomène de l'égyptomanie et à l'orientalisme de Delacroix, Fromentin, Marilhat, Decamps mais aussi Théophile Gautier... Financiers, politiciens, marchands, et fouilleurs de tous ordres se presseront sur les rives du Nil en quête de bonnes affaires à la suite de cette redécouverte de l'Egypte. A l'origine de l'égyptologie, ces planches connaîtront une postérité immense. LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, édition IMPERIALE (1809-1829) : La Description de l'Egypte est un des chefs d'uvre de l'édition française et le point de départ d'une nouvelle science : l'égyptologie. Titanesque exposé de l'Egypte au temps des conquêtes de Bonaparte entre 1798 et 1799, elle est répartie en 23 volumes dont 13 volumes de gravures rassemblant près de 1000 planches en noir et 72 en couleur. Les 6 volumes de planches intitulées Antiquités sont consacrés aux splendeurs de l'Egypte pharaonique. L'Histoire naturelle est répartie en 3 volumes de gravures. Un volume est consacré aux Cartes géographiques et topographiques tandis que les 3 volumes : Etat Moderne dressent un portrait saisissant de l'Egypte copte et islamique telle qu'elle était vue par les armées d'Orient de Bonaparte. La « campagne d'Egypte », désastre militaire, dévoile à travers les gravures de la Description de l'Egypte la réussite scientifique qu'elle est devenue, grâce aux quelques 167 savants membres de la Commission des sciences et des arts de l'Institut d'Egypte qui suivaient l'armée de Napoléon. L'Institut a réuni en Egypte le mathématicien Monge, le chimiste Berthollet, le naturaliste Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ainsi que de nombreux artistes, ingénieurs, architectes, médecins... Ils eurent la charge de redécouvrir l'Egypte moderne et antique, d'en montrer les richesses naturelles, et le savoir-faire de ses habitants. L'édition originale, dite « Impériale », de la Description de l'Egypte fut réalisée sur quatre formats de grande taille, deux d'entre eux spécialement créés pour elle et baptisés formats « Moyen-Egypte » et « Grand-Egypte ». On construisit une presse spécifique pour son impression, qui s'étala sur vingt ans, entre 1809 et 1829. L'édition Impériale s'avéra si populaire qu'une deuxième édition en 37 volumes entièrement en noir et sans le filigrane « Egypte ancienne et moderne », dite édition « Panckoucke », fut publiée à partir de 1821 par l'imprimerie C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). La réalisation de ce monument d'érudition doit beaucoup au baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrateur, diplomate, collectionneur et par la suite directeur du musée Napoléon du Louvre qui accompagna Napoléon en Egypte avec de nombreux autres savants mais décida seul de s'aventurer dans le Sud du pays, alors que les autres scientifiques conviés restaient confinés dans la région du Caire. Les fabuleux croquis rapportés par Denon lors de sa romanesque chevauchée donnèrent l'idée à Bonaparte d'y envoyer les autres membres de l'Institut et ainsi dresser un portrait fidèle et complet du territoire. A la suite de Denon, ce sont donc les plus grands scientifiques et artistes français qui s'aventurèrent le long du Nil jusqu'en Nubie. Parmi eux, le peintre au muséum d'histoire naturelle H.J. Redouté (frère de Pierre-Joseph Redouté, auteur des Roses), le minéralogiste Dolomieu, le dessinateur Joly, et les ingénieurs Fourier et Costaz, chargés de l'étude scientifique des vestiges antiques de Haute-Egypte. Sans doute pour la première fois réunie dans une telle expédition, l'élite scientifique et artistique française, composée de plus de 160 « savants » dont près de 50 artistes, étudie méthodiquement l'Egypte pendant trois ans. Ils réalisent alors, sous l'égide et à la gloire de Napoléon, la plus vaste analyse historique, géographique, scientifique, économique et ethnologique jamais réalisée sur un pays. Mais ce sont peut-être les gravures qui constituèrent le défi technique majeur de cette Description de l'Egypte, comme en témoigne Yves Laissus, commissaire de l'exposition organisée en 2009 par la RMN et le Musée de l'Armée aux Invalides : « L'illustration, 836 planches dont une soixantaine en couleurs, gravées à l'eau forte et au burin dans des formats jusqu'alors inusités (le plus grand couvre près d'un mètre carré), a nécessité la construction de nouvelles formes et cuves pour la fabrication du papier, justifié l'invention, par Nicolas Conté, d'une machine destinée à alléger la besogne des graveurs, et exigé la réalisation de nouvelles presses capables d'imprimer ces images immenses. Certaines d'entre elles ont demandé deux années de travail. Près de 200 graveurs ont reproduit sur le cuivre les uvres de 62 dessinateurs dont 46 ont participé à l'expédition. » Rare et superbe gravure originale d'une exceptionnelle facture et qualité graphique, témoignage d'une des plus ambitieuses aventures éditoriales françaises. - Photos sur www.Edition-originale.com - [AUTOMATIC ENGLISH TRANSLATION FOLLOWS] Original, unshaved, full-page etching from the ""Imperial edition"" of the Description de l'Égypte, or 'Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand [A Collection of the observations and research carried out in Egypt during the French expedition, published on the orders of his Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great]'. Produced between February 1802 and 1830 on the orders of Naopleon Bonaparte and published between 1809 and 1828, 1,000 copies were printed and distributed to institutions, on vergé paper with an 'Égypte ancienne et moderne' watermark, visible when held up to the light. Light marginal spotting not touching image, otherwise in very fresh, fine condition. An engraving from the Description de l'Egypte, one of the masterpieces of French printing and the birth of a new field: Egyptology. A gigantic survey of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests in 1798 and 1799, the work is divided into 13 volumes of engravings making up 892 plates, of which 72 colored, as well as presenting the splendors of the Egypt of the Pharaohs in 9 volumes. The other volumes discuss natural history and present a fascinating portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's Eastern Armies. The 'Egyptian campaign', militarily a disaster, demonstrates, through the engravings of the Description d'Egypte, the scientific success it nonetheless became thanks to the 167 expert members of the Commission of the Sciences and Arts of the Institut d'Egypte [Egyptian Institute] who followed Napoleon's army. The Institut gathered together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects and doctors. They were tasked with re-discovering modern and ancient Egypt and displaying its natural treasures as well as the know-how of its inhabitants. This edition, the so-called ""Imperial"" edition of the plates for the Description de l'Egypte was printed in four large formats, two of which were specially created for it and christened ""Moyen-Egypte"" and ""Grand-Egypte"". A special press was built to print it, the process extending over 20 years, from 1809 to 1829. The ""Imperial"" edition proved so popular that a second edition, this time in black and white and without the ""Egypte ancienne et moderne"" watermark - known as the ""Royal Edition"" - was published during the Restoration by the printing house of C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). The engravings of the Description d'Egypte owe a great deal to Baron Dominique-Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later Director of the Musée Napoléon (the Louvre). His exploration of the South of Egypt gave Bonaparte the idea of sending the experts of the Institut there, thus creating a faithful and complete portrait of the area. This was the research gathered together from 1802 in the mammoth Description de L'Egypte. Denon embarked on this story of archeological exploration at the age of 51, reaching first Alexandria and then Cairo before exploring Upper Egypt. Along with the members of the Institut d'Egypte, the Natural History Museum's painter H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of Roses), the mineralogist Dolomiue, and the draughtsman Joly, Denon then explored the Nile Delta and Lower Egypt. When, however, he joined the 21st Light Infantry Regiment as it marched across Upper Egypt in pursuit of the retreating Mameluks in November 1798, he found himself the only civilian. In the very midst of the battle itself, he reeled off sketches of the works of art that peppered his path right up to the threshold of the Sudan. He said that he had crossed ""a country that is, apart from its name, entirely unknown to Europeans, and therefore everything was worth describing"" (Voyages dans la Basse et la Haute Egypte pendant les campagnes de Bonaparte en 1798 et 1799, 1817). On his return to Cairo, the great general, spellbound by Denon's accounts and drawings ordered two commissions to be set up, led by the engineers Fourier and Costaz. They were tasked with the scientific study of the ancient remains in Upper Egypt; research that proved a significant contribution to the monumental Description d'Egypte, from which this plate is taken. ANCIENT EGYPTThese engravings therefore represent a unique body of material that contributed to Jean-François Champollion's deciphering of hieroglyphics, and which mark the beginning of the line of Mariette, Maspero and Carter, who would reshape the face of Ancient Egypt. They also started a craze that gave birth to the phenomenon of Egyptomania and the Orientalism of Delacroix, Fromentin, Marilhat, Decamps and Théophile Gautier. Financiers, politicians, merchants and all kinds of treasure-hunters made their way to the banks of the Nile in search of riches, following this rediscovery of Egypt. The originators of Egyptology, these plates were to have a hugely influential afterlife. NATURAL HISTORYThese engravings show the scientific genius of the French experts then working on the ground in Egypt, laying the foundations for its becoming a French colony. This colonizing project, which had been mooted since the reign of Louis XIV, was now accompanied - with Bonaparte's arrival - by an in-depth study of the country's fauna and flora thanks to the work of the most eminent naturalists, mineralogists, and entomologists of the day. The Description de l'Egypte shows all of this immense scientific undertaking through its engravings, which were done after drawings by members of the Academy of Science, including Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hillaire, Alire Raffenau-Delile and Henri-Joseph Redouté. In the words of Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ""We have gathered the material for the greatest work that a nation could hope to undertake. In mourning the fate of so many brave soldiers who - after so many glorious exploits - fell in Egypt, we shall be able to console ourselves that such precious works came into being."" MODERN EGYPTThe genius of the experts of the Institut d'Egypte is revealed in the plates of the section known as ""Modern Egypte"". Architecture, industry, social organization, conditions of health, irrigation, music, and crafts, are all presented with exceptional precision and powers of description. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie runs through the work of the draughtsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompanied the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, undertaking to produce a portrait of the local population that was imbued with both beauty and respect. Wealthy Pashas and simple artisan potters are sensitively represented here, going about their business in beautifully composed images that nonetheless do not fall into the traps of idealism or caricature. ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE (the ""Cairo"" plates) The set of engravings to which this plate belongs constitutes one of the first complete studies of the monuments of Islamic Egypt in Cairo, bringing together maps, sections and elevations of mosques, mausoleums and fortifications, from the Tulunid era in the 9th century up to the Mameluk constructions contemporaneous with the arrival of the Bonapartist troops. At the same time, the architects and engineers of the Institut d'Egypte also made a big series of plates dedicated to civilian housing and edifices in Cairo, including both grander and more modest constructions, providing a precious picture of life in Cairo at the end of the 19th century. BAB AL FOUTOUH Bab el-Foutouh, "" The Conquest Gate"" marks the northern limit of Fatimid old Cairo. Rebuilt in 1087, it is highly defensive in nature owing to the turbulent climate in 11th Century Cairo, which saw a number of popular uprisings. An imposing gate, it has two semicircular towers with low-slung arches made of heavy blocks of stone anchored within the ramparts. The sizeable passage through the gate (4.85m wide by 6.79m high) has a shallow dome. BAB EL NASR Bab el-Nasr, ""The Victory Gate"" is on the northern wall of the Fatimid fortress in Cairo. Its two enormous rectangular towers were rebuilt in 1087 after a long period of popular uprisings. On this highly attractive frontal image signed Protain, one can admire the sculpted shields in the corners of the gate and on the towers, symbolizing victory and protection against invaders. After taking Cairo, Napoleon named all the towers along the wall of the fortress after the officers assigned to guard them. Their names are still engraved on the upper parts of the walls of the gate. SULTAN HASSAN MOSQUEThe massive architectural complex constructed by Sultan Hassan at the foot of the citadel in Cairo was built in the ostentatious style so characteristic of Mameluk architecture. Completed in 1356, the Sultan Hassan Mosque has a monumental gate and a 57m high minaret. This group of buildings, comprising a mausoleum that was never put to use, was strategically built on the site of a square that saw the start of a number of popular uprisings. The mosque was heavily inspired by Iranian models. Philae This plate is taken from a set of engravings dedicated to the Temple of Isis on the island of Philae. The final bastion of the worship of the ancient Egyptian gods, the temple of Isis was the last pagan temple to be in use before it was closed in the 6th century A.D. under Justinian. Construction on the temple began under the Ptolemies, a period of growth for the Isis cult. Isis was the sister and wife of Osiris and mother to Horus. Kom Ombo (Ombos) The Kom Ombo site, 40 kilometers from Aswan, is home to one of the best preserved ancient Egyptian temples, dedicated to Sobek, a crocodile god and Haroeris, a form of Horus. Built in the Ptolemaic era, it was actually founded during the XVIIIth Dynasty. Its massive Composite capitals and highly accomplished reliefs are captured accurately by the draughtsmen of the Institut d'Egypte, Jollois, Balzac and Cécile. The dual aspect of its design, intended for worship of two different divine triads - those of Sobek and Haroeris - is reproduced in great detail by the architects and engineers of the Egyptian campaign through this set of prints, which preceded the first archeological digs in the building by Auguste Mariette in 1828. Edfu This plate is taken from a series of views of the great temple at Edfu and the various buildings in its cultic complex. The temple of Horus, a jewel of Ptolemaic architecture and exceptionally well-preserved, is made up of a majestic entry gate and a hypostyle chamber, which are both extensively documented thanks to the engravings by the experts of the Institut d'Egypte. Begun in 237 BC by Ptolemy III and completed 180 years later under Tiberius, it proved an extraordinary sight for the draughtsmen come to explore the left bank of the Nile. Esna and its environs The town of Esna (Esneh or Latopolis in Bonaparte's time), lies fifty kilometers to the south of Luxor. The experts from the Institut de l'Egypte documented their discovery of its temple, dedicated to Khnum, one of the gods of creation who worked with clay and had the head of a ram; he controlled the life-giving flooding of the Nile, the source of fertility. He was associated with Nebt-uu, the mistress of the countryside and Menhyt, a goddess with the head of a lion. This temple, partially rebuilt during the Ptolemaic era, was added to right up to the reign of Tiberius. The draughtsmen also produced a number of views of the neighboring temples, most notably the less well-preserved temple of Contra-Latopolis to the north of Esna. Thebes Medinet-Habu Close to Thebes and Luxor on the left bank of the Nile, the city of Medinet-Habu is home to one of the most attractive temples of New Kingdom period Egypt, the mortuary temple of Ramses III. This dates from the middle of the 12th century BC, and is based on the famous Ramesseum of his predecessor, which it surpasses in size. A funerary temple celebrating the Pharaoh, the experts of the Institut d'Egypte set about creating cross-sections, plans and elevations, and most especially capturing its numerous bas-reliefs. The architects and draughtsmen also focused on the Royal Palace and its internal peristyle within the 12-metre fortress that encircles the religious complex, including the Temple of Amon, located at the south-east of the site and begun in the reign of Hatshepsut at the end of the 15th Century BC. Memnonium The Memnonium, a name used by visitors to the Valley of the Kings from 1750 to 1850, refers to a set of three royal buildings constructed during the New Kingdom: the Ramesseum, the Temple of Amenhotep III and the Temple of Sethi I. The draughtsmen and architects of Bonaparte's Institut, sent out on expedition across Upper Egypt from 1799 documented Thebes and the Valley of the Kings, even attempting to reconstruct some of the buildings on the basis of descriptions by Classical authors. The tomb of Ozymandias (one of the numerous names of Ramses II), in a very poor state, thus became the subject of very thorough study and an attempt to fill in its missing bits on the basis of the writings of Diodurus Siculus. This Greek historian of the Augustine period stayed in the valley of the Nile from 60-57 BC and his visit to the tomb of Ramses II is recounted in his monumental Bibliotheca Historica (Book I, XLVII-XLIX).At the same time, the experts also made extremely detailed studies and views of the Colossi of Memnon, all that remains of a huge memorial temple to Amenhotep III built on the road to the necropolis in the Valley of the Kings. These colossi were located at the entrance to the temple in front of a preliminary pylon made of brick. These two statues represent King Amenhotep III framed to the right by the great Royal Consort Tiy and to the left by the Queen Mother Mutemwiya. Hypogea and Biban el Moluk This plate is taken from a series of engravings of the hypogea in the Valley of the Kings (Biban el Moluk) in Thebes. Some are in color to show the vivid hues of the sarcophaguses and mysterious murals whose secret had yet to be broken by Jean-François Champollion. The draughtsmen of the Institut, including the famous Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, sent by Napoleon to cover Upper Egypt in 1799, capture with élan the royal mummies and the artifacts that accompanied the dead in their journey to the netherworld: urns, furniture, weapons, idols and the mummies of numerous mammals and birds. Karnak This plate is from a set on the Great Temple at Karnak, built during the New Kingdom at the time of Ramses III. This enormous complex is divided into three parts and is dedicated to the Theban Triad of gods, Amun, Mut and Khonsu. Its sculptures, internal bas-reliefs and sunken reliefs on the external facades are intricately captured by the engineers of the Institut, while the architects worked out the complex groundplan of this edifice, which was divided into facades, colonnaded halls and sacral spaces reserved for the temple priests. The alley of the monumental sphinx which links the site to the Luxor site was also the subject of a plate by Lepère, an architect from the Institut who took part in the expedition across Upper Egypt. Dendera The experts executed views and drawings of the temples of Dendera (or Tentyra), a city in Upper Egypt 60km to the north of Luxor. They have captured, with an exceptional degree of graphic artistry, the thick, round nature of the sculpted reliefs of the great Temple of Hathor, built under the Ptolemies in the first half of the 1st century BC. They also produced interesting views of the neighboring temples as well as a selection of reliefs of the ""Dendera Zodiac"", a chapel dedicated to Osiris and located beneath the temple of Hathor. Its famous astronomical relief was discovered by the French General Desaix - stationed in Upper Egypt by Bonaparte from 1798 - and taken back to France in 1821 by Claude Lelorrain; it is now on display in the Louvre. Another astronomical and cosmological relief on the ceiling of the hypostyle hall of the Temple of Hathor is the subject of a magnificent plate by Jollois and Devilliers. This covers seven soffit coffers of the ceiling and is an immense allegorical image showing several levels of consciousness: that of cosmogony, the constellations and their effect on the Earth, the creation of Man, and the Nomes of Egypt, symbolized by 21 pairs of wings topped with the red crown of Lower Egypt and the white tiara of Upper Egypt. The Pyramids at Memphis The Giza Plateau, near Memphis, is home to three of the most famous Ancient Egyptian Pyramids, the tombs of Cheops, Khafre and Menkaure, Pharaohs of the 4th Dynasty (2620-2500 BC). The experts of the Institut, hurrying to Memphis, explored the plateau and made numerous views of these majestic pyramids, towering over inhabitants and mounted figures. They also made minutely detailed views of the epigraphs on the tombs adjacent to the pyramids, as well as views of the Sphinx of Gaza near the Pyramid of Khafre. Views of Alexandria A plate taken from a set of view of Alexandria as it was found by Napoleon's army in June 1798. Embarking in Toulon on the 14th May, his troops disembarked at Alexandria a month later and explored this port city before heading towards Cairo to take the capital. " Imprimerie Impériale Paris _1809-1829 54x71cm une feuille‎

‎"DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE. Arts et métiers. Le Passementier, Le Faiseur de cordonnets, Le Fabricant d'étoffes de laine, Le Ceinturonnier. (ETAT MODERNE, volume II, planche XIV)"‎

‎" - Imprimerie Impériale, Paris 1809-1829, 71x53,5cm, une feuille. - Gravure originale à l'eau-forte in plano, non rognée, extraite de l'édition dite « Impériale » de la Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand. Réalisée entre février 1802 et 1829 sur ordre de Napoléon Bonaparte et publiée à partir de 1809 [en réalité 1810], elle fut tirée à 1000 exemplaires sur Vergé filigrané « Égypte ancienne et moderne » et offerte aux institutions. Légères et marginales rousseurs sans atteinte à la gravure, sinon très bel état de fraîcheur et de conservation. Volume ETAT MODERNE, II : Le génie des savants de l'Institut se révèle particulièrement à travers les planches de la section dite Egypte Moderne. Architecture, industrie, structures sociales, état sanitaire, régime des eaux, musique, artisanat, sont exposés avec une précision et une qualité graphique exceptionnelle. L'esprit de L'Encyclopédie de Diderot et d'Alembert reste sous-jacent dans la démarche des dessinateurs de la Description de L'Egypte, qui accompagnent les volumes de textes de nombreuses planches détaillées, s'employant à dresser un portrait des populations empreint de beauté et de respect. Riches pachas ou simples artisans potiers sont représentés avec sensibilité, vaquant à leurs occupations au milieu de compositions esthétiques, sans pour autant tomber dans l'idéalisme ou la caricature. LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, édition IMPERIALE (1809-1829) : La Description de l'Egypte est un des chefs d'uvre de l'édition française et le point de départ d'une nouvelle science : l'égyptologie. Titanesque exposé de l'Egypte au temps des conquêtes de Bonaparte entre 1798 et 1799, elle est répartie en 23 volumes dont 13 volumes de gravures rassemblant près de 1000 planches en noir et 72 en couleur. Les 6 volumes de planches intitulées Antiquités sont consacrés aux splendeurs de l'Egypte pharaonique. L'Histoire naturelle est répartie en 3 volumes de gravures. Un volume est consacré aux Cartes géographiques et topographiques tandis que les 3 volumes : Etat Moderne dressent un portrait saisissant de l'Egypte copte et islamique telle qu'elle était vue par les armées d'Orient de Bonaparte. La « campagne d'Egypte », désastre militaire, dévoile à travers les gravures de la Description de l'Egypte la réussite scientifique qu'elle est devenue, grâce aux quelques 167 savants membres de la Commission des sciences et des arts de l'Institut d'Egypte qui suivaient l'armée de Napoléon. L'Institut a réuni en Egypte le mathématicien Monge, le chimiste Berthollet, le naturaliste Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ainsi que de nombreux artistes, ingénieurs, architectes, médecins... Ils eurent la charge de redécouvrir l'Egypte moderne et antique, d'en montrer les richesses naturelles, et le savoir-faire de ses habitants. L'édition originale, dite « Impériale », de la Description de l'Egypte fut réalisée sur quatre formats de grande taille, deux d'entre eux spécialement créés pour elle et baptisés formats « Moyen-Egypte » et « Grand-Egypte ». On construisit une presse spécifique pour son impression, qui s'étala sur vingt ans, entre 1809 et 1829. L'édition Impériale s'avéra si populaire qu'une deuxième édition en 37 volumes entièrement en noir et sans le filigrane « Egypte ancienne et moderne », dite édition « Panckoucke », fut publiée à partir de 1821 par l'imprimerie C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). La réalisation de ce monument d'érudition doit beaucoup au baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrateur, diplomate, collectionneur et par la suite directeur du musée Napoléon du Louvre qui accompagna Napoléon en Egypte avec de nombreux autres savants mais décida seul de s'aventurer dans le Sud du pays, alors que les autres scientifiques conviés restaient confinés dans la région du Caire. Les fabuleux croquis rapportés par Denon lors de sa romanesque chevauchée donnèrent l'idée à Bonaparte d'y envoyer les autres membres de l'Institut et ainsi dresser un portrait fidèle et complet du territoire. A la suite de Denon, ce sont donc les plus grands scientifiques et artistes français qui s'aventurèrent le long du Nil jusqu'en Nubie. Parmi eux, le peintre au muséum d'histoire naturelle H.J. Redouté (frère de Pierre-Joseph Redouté, auteur des Roses), le minéralogiste Dolomieu, le dessinateur Joly, et les ingénieurs Fourier et Costaz, chargés de l'étude scientifique des vestiges antiques de Haute-Egypte. Sans doute pour la première fois réunie dans une telle expédition, l'élite scientifique et artistique française, composée de plus de 160 « savants » dont près de 50 artistes, étudie méthodiquement l'Egypte pendant trois ans. Ils réalisent alors, sous l'égide et à la gloire de Napoléon, la plus vaste analyse historique, géographique, scientifique, économique et ethnologique jamais réalisée sur un pays. Mais ce sont peut-être les gravures qui constituèrent le défi technique majeur de cette Description de l'Egypte, comme en témoigne Yves Laissus, commissaire de l'exposition organisée en 2009 par la RMN et le Musée de l'Armée aux Invalides : « L'illustration, 836 planches dont une soixantaine en couleurs, gravées à l'eau forte et au burin dans des formats jusqu'alors inusités (le plus grand couvre près d'un mètre carré), a nécessité la construction de nouvelles formes et cuves pour la fabrication du papier, justifié l'invention, par Nicolas Conté, d'une machine destinée à alléger la besogne des graveurs, et exigé la réalisation de nouvelles presses capables d'imprimer ces images immenses. Certaines d'entre elles ont demandé deux années de travail. Près de 200 graveurs ont reproduit sur le cuivre les uvres de 62 dessinateurs dont 46 ont participé à l'expédition. » Rare et superbe gravure originale d'une exceptionnelle facture et qualité graphique, témoignage d'une des plus ambitieuses aventures éditoriales françaises. - Photos sur www.Edition-originale.com - [AUTOMATIC ENGLISH TRANSLATION FOLLOWS] Original etching in plano, untrimmed, extracted from the 'Imperial Edition' of the Description of Egypt or Series observations and research made in Egypt during the French expedition, published by order of His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon Great. Conducted between 1802 and 1830 and published between 1809 and 1828, she was taken in 1000 copies available to institutions. Laid paper with watermark visible transparence.Infimes and marginal foxing or offense against engraving, otherwise excellent condition of freshness and preservation ancient and modern Egypt. The monumental first edition of the Description of Egypt in 13 volumes contained 892 colored plates of which 72, including 9 volumes involved antiquity. The other volumes dealt with the Natural History and modern Egypt as Napoleon Bonaparte had brought with him a commission of scholars from all disciplines so that, they said, in his description was stored the richest museum of universe. The work was written in part by Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, before he became DG of Napoleon in the Louvre Museum. More than 80 artists and 400 writers were hired for this huge project. The dimensions of the exceptionally large boards necessitated the creation of a special press and a specific piece of furniture to keep them ...! --- Please note that the translation in english is done automatically, we apologize if the formulas are inaccurate. Contact us for any information!" Imprimerie Impériale Paris _1809-1829 "71x53,5cm" une feuille‎

‎"DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE. Antinoë. Vue de l'arc de triomphe. (ANTIQUITES, volume IV, planche 57)"‎

‎" - Imprimerie Impériale, Paris 1809-1829, 70x51,5cm, une feuille. - Gravure originale à l'eau-forte in plano, non rognée, extraite de l'édition dite « Impériale » de la Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand. Réalisée entre février 1802 et 1829 sur ordre de Napoléon Bonaparte et publiée à partir de 1809 [en réalité 1810], elle fut tirée à 1000 exemplaires sur Vergé filigrané « Égypte ancienne et moderne » et offerte aux institutions. Très belle vue romantique de l'Arc de Triomphe d'Antinoë, ville fondée par l'empereur romain Hadrien en 132 ap. JC, sur la rive droite du Nil. Le monument à l'entrée du site se dresse entre quelques palmiers qui procurent de l'ombre aux voyageurs. C'est le monument le mieux conservé de ce site, avec son ordre de pilastres corinthiens complets, les parties hautes et le couronnement en forme de fronton triangulaire d'inspiration grecque. La base présente quelques traces de mutilation, peut-être le début d'une sape inachevée. Tour autour on aperçoit le village de Cheykh A'bâdeh et les scientifiques français qui commencent leurs observations. Quelques rares rousseurs, sinon excellent état de fraîcheur et de conservation. Volume ANTIQUITES, IV : Ces gravures fournissent à Jean-François Champollion une documentation épigraphique fondamentale pour le déchiffrage des hiéroglyphes et inspirent une lignée d'archéologues comme Mariette, Maspero et Carter qui donnent un nouveau visage à l'Egypte ancienne. Elles suscitent un engouement tel qu'elles donnent naissance au phénomène de l'égyptomanie et à l'orientalisme de Delacroix, Fromentin, Marilhat, Decamps mais aussi Théophile Gautier... Financiers, politiciens, marchands, et fouilleurs de tous ordres se presseront sur les rives du Nil en quête de bonnes affaires à la suite de cette redécouverte de l'Egypte. A l'origine de l'égyptologie, ces planches connaîtront une postérité immense. LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, édition IMPERIALE (1809-1829) : La Description de l'Egypte est un des chefs d'uvre de l'édition française et le point de départ d'une nouvelle science : l'égyptologie. Titanesque exposé de l'Egypte au temps des conquêtes de Bonaparte entre 1798 et 1799, elle est répartie en 23 volumes dont 13 volumes de gravures rassemblant près de 1000 planches en noir et 72 en couleur. Les 6 volumes de planches intitulées Antiquités sont consacrés aux splendeurs de l'Egypte pharaonique. L'Histoire naturelle est répartie en 3 volumes de gravures. Un volume est consacré aux Cartes géographiques et topographiques tandis que les 3 volumes : Etat Moderne dressent un portrait saisissant de l'Egypte copte et islamique telle qu'elle était vue par les armées d'Orient de Bonaparte. La « campagne d'Egypte », désastre militaire, dévoile à travers les gravures de la Description de l'Egypte la réussite scientifique qu'elle est devenue, grâce aux quelques 167 savants membres de la Commission des sciences et des arts de l'Institut d'Egypte qui suivaient l'armée de Napoléon. L'Institut a réuni en Egypte le mathématicien Monge, le chimiste Berthollet, le naturaliste Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ainsi que de nombreux artistes, ingénieurs, architectes, médecins... Ils eurent la charge de redécouvrir l'Egypte moderne et antique, d'en montrer les richesses naturelles, et le savoir-faire de ses habitants. L'édition originale, dite « Impériale », de la Description de l'Egypte fut réalisée sur quatre formats de grande taille, deux d'entre eux spécialement créés pour elle et baptisés formats « Moyen-Egypte » et « Grand-Egypte ». On construisit une presse spécifique pour son impression, qui s'étala sur vingt ans, entre 1809 et 1829. L'édition Impériale s'avéra si populaire qu'une deuxième édition en 37 volumes entièrement en noir et sans le filigrane « Egypte ancienne et moderne », dite édition « Panckoucke », fut publiée à partir de 1821 par l'imprimerie C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). La réalisation de ce monument d'érudition doit beaucoup au baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrateur, diplomate, collectionneur et par la suite directeur du musée Napoléon du Louvre qui accompagna Napoléon en Egypte avec de nombreux autres savants mais décida seul de s'aventurer dans le Sud du pays, alors que les autres scientifiques conviés restaient confinés dans la région du Caire. Les fabuleux croquis rapportés par Denon lors de sa romanesque chevauchée donnèrent l'idée à Bonaparte d'y envoyer les autres membres de l'Institut et ainsi dresser un portrait fidèle et complet du territoire. A la suite de Denon, ce sont donc les plus grands scientifiques et artistes français qui s'aventurèrent le long du Nil jusqu'en Nubie. Parmi eux, le peintre au muséum d'histoire naturelle H.J. Redouté (frère de Pierre-Joseph Redouté, auteur des Roses), le minéralogiste Dolomieu, le dessinateur Joly, et les ingénieurs Fourier et Costaz, chargés de l'étude scientifique des vestiges antiques de Haute-Egypte. Sans doute pour la première fois réunie dans une telle expédition, l'élite scientifique et artistique française, composée de plus de 160 « savants » dont près de 50 artistes, étudie méthodiquement l'Egypte pendant trois ans. Ils réalisent alors, sous l'égide et à la gloire de Napoléon, la plus vaste analyse historique, géographique, scientifique, économique et ethnologique jamais réalisée sur un pays. Mais ce sont peut-être les gravures qui constituèrent le défi technique majeur de cette Description de l'Egypte, comme en témoigne Yves Laissus, commissaire de l'exposition organisée en 2009 par la RMN et le Musée de l'Armée aux Invalides : « L'illustration, 836 planches dont une soixantaine en couleurs, gravées à l'eau forte et au burin dans des formats jusqu'alors inusités (le plus grand couvre près d'un mètre carré), a nécessité la construction de nouvelles formes et cuves pour la fabrication du papier, justifié l'invention, par Nicolas Conté, d'une machine destinée à alléger la besogne des graveurs, et exigé la réalisation de nouvelles presses capables d'imprimer ces images immenses. Certaines d'entre elles ont demandé deux années de travail. Près de 200 graveurs ont reproduit sur le cuivre les uvres de 62 dessinateurs dont 46 ont participé à l'expédition. » Rare et superbe gravure originale d'une exceptionnelle facture et qualité graphique, témoignage d'une des plus ambitieuses aventures éditoriales françaises. - Photos sur www.Edition-originale.com - [AUTOMATIC ENGLISH TRANSLATION FOLLOWS] Original, unshaved, full-page etching from the ""Imperial edition"" of the Description de l'Égypte, or 'Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand [A Collection of the observations and research carried out in Egypt during the French expedition, published on the orders of his Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great]'. Produced between February 1802 and 1830 on the orders of Naopleon Bonaparte and published between 1809 and 1828, 1,000 copies were printed and distributed to institutions, on vergé paper with an 'Égypte ancienne et moderne' watermark, visible when held up to the light. Light marginal spotting not touching image, otherwise in very fresh, fine condition. An engraving from the Description de l'Egypte, one of the masterpieces of French printing and the birth of a new field: Egyptology. A gigantic survey of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests in 1798 and 1799, the work is divided into 13 volumes of engravings making up 892 plates, of which 72 colored, as well as presenting the splendors of the Egypt of the Pharaohs in 9 volumes. The other volumes discuss natural history and present a fascinating portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's Eastern Armies. The 'Egyptian campaign', militarily a disaster, demonstrates, through the engravings of the Description d'Egypte, the scientific success it nonetheless became thanks to the 167 expert members of the Commission of the Sciences and Arts of the Institut d'Egypte [Egyptian Institute] who followed Napoleon's army. The Institut gathered together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects and doctors. They were tasked with re-discovering modern and ancient Egypt and displaying its natural treasures as well as the know-how of its inhabitants. This edition, the so-called ""Imperial"" edition of the plates for the Description de l'Egypte was printed in four large formats, two of which were specially created for it and christened ""Moyen-Egypte"" and ""Grand-Egypte"". A special press was built to print it, the process extending over 20 years, from 1809 to 1829. The ""Imperial"" edition proved so popular that a second edition, this time in black and white and without the ""Egypte ancienne et moderne"" watermark - known as the ""Royal Edition"" - was published during the Restoration by the printing house of C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). The engravings of the Description d'Egypte owe a great deal to Baron Dominique-Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later Director of the Musée Napoléon (the Louvre). His exploration of the South of Egypt gave Bonaparte the idea of sending the experts of the Institut there, thus creating a faithful and complete portrait of the area. This was the research gathered together from 1802 in the mammoth Description de L'Egypte. Denon embarked on this story of archeological exploration at the age of 51, reaching first Alexandria and then Cairo before exploring Upper Egypt. Along with the members of the Institut d'Egypte, the Natural History Museum's painter H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of Roses), the mineralogist Dolomiue, and the draughtsman Joly, Denon then explored the Nile Delta and Lower Egypt. When, however, he joined the 21st Light Infantry Regiment as it marched across Upper Egypt in pursuit of the retreating Mameluks in November 1798, he found himself the only civilian. In the very midst of the battle itself, he reeled off sketches of the works of art that peppered his path right up to the threshold of the Sudan. He said that he had crossed ""a country that is, apart from its name, entirely unknown to Europeans, and therefore everything was worth describing"" (Voyages dans la Basse et la Haute Egypte pendant les campagnes de Bonaparte en 1798 et 1799, 1817). On his return to Cairo, the great general, spellbound by Denon's accounts and drawings ordered two commissions to be set up, led by the engineers Fourier and Costaz. They were tasked with the scientific study of the ancient remains in Upper Egypt; research that proved a significant contribution to the monumental Description d'Egypte, from which this plate is taken. ANCIENT EGYPTThese engravings therefore represent a unique body of material that contributed to Jean-François Champollion's deciphering of hieroglyphics, and which mark the beginning of the line of Mariette, Maspero and Carter, who would reshape the face of Ancient Egypt. They also started a craze that gave birth to the phenomenon of Egyptomania and the Orientalism of Delacroix, Fromentin, Marilhat, Decamps and Théophile Gautier. Financiers, politicians, merchants and all kinds of treasure-hunters made their way to the banks of the Nile in search of riches, following this rediscovery of Egypt. The originators of Egyptology, these plates were to have a hugely influential afterlife. NATURAL HISTORYThese engravings show the scientific genius of the French experts then working on the ground in Egypt, laying the foundations for its becoming a French colony. This colonizing project, which had been mooted since the reign of Louis XIV, was now accompanied - with Bonaparte's arrival - by an in-depth study of the country's fauna and flora thanks to the work of the most eminent naturalists, mineralogists, and entomologists of the day. The Description de l'Egypte shows all of this immense scientific undertaking through its engravings, which were done after drawings by members of the Academy of Science, including Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hillaire, Alire Raffenau-Delile and Henri-Joseph Redouté. In the words of Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ""We have gathered the material for the greatest work that a nation could hope to undertake. In mourning the fate of so many brave soldiers who - after so many glorious exploits - fell in Egypt, we shall be able to console ourselves that such precious works came into being."" MODERN EGYPTThe genius of the experts of the Institut d'Egypte is revealed in the plates of the section known as ""Modern Egypte"". Architecture, industry, social organization, conditions of health, irrigation, music, and crafts, are all presented with exceptional precision and powers of description. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie runs through the work of the draughtsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompanied the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, undertaking to produce a portrait of the local population that was imbued with both beauty and respect. Wealthy Pashas and simple artisan potters are sensitively represented here, going about their business in beautifully composed images that nonetheless do not fall into the traps of idealism or caricature. ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE (the ""Cairo"" plates) The set of engravings to which this plate belongs constitutes one of the first complete studies of the monuments of Islamic Egypt in Cairo, bringing together maps, sections and elevations of mosques, mausoleums and fortifications, from the Tulunid era in the 9th century up to the Mameluk constructions contemporaneous with the arrival of the Bonapartist troops. At the same time, the architects and engineers of the Institut d'Egypte also made a big series of plates dedicated to civilian housing and edifices in Cairo, including both grander and more modest constructions, providing a precious picture of life in Cairo at the end of the 19th century. BAB AL FOUTOUH Bab el-Foutouh, "" The Conquest Gate"" marks the northern limit of Fatimid old Cairo. Rebuilt in 1087, it is highly defensive in nature owing to the turbulent climate in 11th Century Cairo, which saw a number of popular uprisings. An imposing gate, it has two semicircular towers with low-slung arches made of heavy blocks of stone anchored within the ramparts. The sizeable passage through the gate (4.85m wide by 6.79m high) has a shallow dome. BAB EL NASR Bab el-Nasr, ""The Victory Gate"" is on the northern wall of the Fatimid fortress in Cairo. Its two enormous rectangular towers were rebuilt in 1087 after a long period of popular uprisings. On this highly attractive frontal image signed Protain, one can admire the sculpted shields in the corners of the gate and on the towers, symbolizing victory and protection against invaders. After taking Cairo, Napoleon named all the towers along the wall of the fortress after the officers assigned to guard them. Their names are still engraved on the upper parts of the walls of the gate. SULTAN HASSAN MOSQUEThe massive architectural complex constructed by Sultan Hassan at the foot of the citadel in Cairo was built in the ostentatious style so characteristic of Mameluk architecture. Completed in 1356, the Sultan Hassan Mosque has a monumental gate and a 57m high minaret. This group of buildings, comprising a mausoleum that was never put to use, was strategically built on the site of a square that saw the start of a number of popular uprisings. The mosque was heavily inspired by Iranian models. Philae This plate is taken from a set of engravings dedicated to the Temple of Isis on the island of Philae. The final bastion of the worship of the ancient Egyptian gods, the temple of Isis was the last pagan temple to be in use before it was closed in the 6th century A.D. under Justinian. Construction on the temple began under the Ptolemies, a period of growth for the Isis cult. Isis was the sister and wife of Osiris and mother to Horus. Kom Ombo (Ombos) The Kom Ombo site, 40 kilometers from Aswan, is home to one of the best preserved ancient Egyptian temples, dedicated to Sobek, a crocodile god and Haroeris, a form of Horus. Built in the Ptolemaic era, it was actually founded during the XVIIIth Dynasty. Its massive Composite capitals and highly accomplished reliefs are captured accurately by the draughtsmen of the Institut d'Egypte, Jollois, Balzac and Cécile. The dual aspect of its design, intended for worship of two different divine triads - those of Sobek and Haroeris - is reproduced in great detail by the architects and engineers of the Egyptian campaign through this set of prints, which preceded the first archeological digs in the building by Auguste Mariette in 1828. Edfu This plate is taken from a series of views of the great temple at Edfu and the various buildings in its cultic complex. The temple of Horus, a jewel of Ptolemaic architecture and exceptionally well-preserved, is made up of a majestic entry gate and a hypostyle chamber, which are both extensively documented thanks to the engravings by the experts of the Institut d'Egypte. Begun in 237 BC by Ptolemy III and completed 180 years later under Tiberius, it proved an extraordinary sight for the draughtsmen come to explore the left bank of the Nile. Esna and its environs The town of Esna (Esneh or Latopolis in Bonaparte's time), lies fifty kilometers to the south of Luxor. The experts from the Institut de l'Egypte documented their discovery of its temple, dedicated to Khnum, one of the gods of creation who worked with clay and had the head of a ram; he controlled the life-giving flooding of the Nile, the source of fertility. He was associated with Nebt-uu, the mistress of the countryside and Menhyt, a goddess with the head of a lion. This temple, partially rebuilt during the Ptolemaic era, was added to right up to the reign of Tiberius. The draughtsmen also produced a number of views of the neighboring temples, most notably the less well-preserved temple of Contra-Latopolis to the north of Esna. Thebes Medinet-Habu Close to Thebes and Luxor on the left bank of the Nile, the city of Medinet-Habu is home to one of the most attractive temples of New Kingdom period Egypt, the mortuary temple of Ramses III. This dates from the middle of the 12th century BC, and is based on the famous Ramesseum of his predecessor, which it surpasses in size. A funerary temple celebrating the Pharaoh, the experts of the Institut d'Egypte set about creating cross-sections, plans and elevations, and most especially capturing its numerous bas-reliefs. The architects and draughtsmen also focused on the Royal Palace and its internal peristyle within the 12-metre fortress that encircles the religious complex, including the Temple of Amon, located at the south-east of the site and begun in the reign of Hatshepsut at the end of the 15th Century BC. Memnonium The Memnonium, a name used by visitors to the Valley of the Kings from 1750 to 1850, refers to a set of three royal buildings constructed during the New Kingdom: the Ramesseum, the Temple of Amenhotep III and the Temple of Sethi I. The draughtsmen and architects of Bonaparte's Institut, sent out on expedition across Upper Egypt from 1799 documented Thebes and the Valley of the Kings, even attempting to reconstruct some of the buildings on the basis of descriptions by Classical authors. The tomb of Ozymandias (one of the numerous names of Ramses II), in a very poor state, thus became the subject of very thorough study and an attempt to fill in its missing bits on the basis of the writings of Diodurus Siculus. This Greek historian of the Augustine period stayed in the valley of the Nile from 60-57 BC and his visit to the tomb of Ramses II is recounted in his monumental Bibliotheca Historica (Book I, XLVII-XLIX).At the same time, the experts also made extremely detailed studies and views of the Colossi of Memnon, all that remains of a huge memorial temple to Amenhotep III built on the road to the necropolis in the Valley of the Kings. These colossi were located at the entrance to the temple in front of a preliminary pylon made of brick. These two statues represent King Amenhotep III framed to the right by the great Royal Consort Tiy and to the left by the Queen Mother Mutemwiya. Hypogea and Biban el Moluk This plate is taken from a series of engravings of the hypogea in the Valley of the Kings (Biban el Moluk) in Thebes. Some are in color to show the vivid hues of the sarcophaguses and mysterious murals whose secret had yet to be broken by Jean-François Champollion. The draughtsmen of the Institut, including the famous Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, sent by Napoleon to cover Upper Egypt in 1799, capture with élan the royal mummies and the artifacts that accompanied the dead in their journey to the netherworld: urns, furniture, weapons, idols and the mummies of numerous mammals and birds. Karnak This plate is from a set on the Great Temple at Karnak, built during the New Kingdom at the time of Ramses III. This enormous complex is divided into three parts and is dedicated to the Theban Triad of gods, Amun, Mut and Khonsu. Its sculptures, internal bas-reliefs and sunken reliefs on the external facades are intricately captured by the engineers of the Institut, while the architects worked out the complex groundplan of this edifice, which was divided into facades, colonnaded halls and sacral spaces reserved for the temple priests. The alley of the monumental sphinx which links the site to the Luxor site was also the subject of a plate by Lepère, an architect from the Institut who took part in the expedition across Upper Egypt. Dendera The experts executed views and drawings of the temples of Dendera (or Tentyra), a city in Upper Egypt 60km to the north of Luxor. They have captured, with an exceptional degree of graphic artistry, the thick, round nature of the sculpted reliefs of the great Temple of Hathor, built under the Ptolemies in the first half of the 1st century BC. They also produced interesting views of the neighboring temples as well as a selection of reliefs of the ""Dendera Zodiac"", a chapel dedicated to Osiris and located beneath the temple of Hathor. Its famous astronomical relief was discovered by the French General Desaix - stationed in Upper Egypt by Bonaparte from 1798 - and taken back to France in 1821 by Claude Lelorrain; it is now on display in the Louvre. Another astronomical and cosmological relief on the ceiling of the hypostyle hall of the Temple of Hathor is the subject of a magnificent plate by Jollois and Devilliers. This covers seven soffit coffers of the ceiling and is an immense allegorical image showing several levels of consciousness: that of cosmogony, the constellations and their effect on the Earth, the creation of Man, and the Nomes of Egypt, symbolized by 21 pairs of wings topped with the red crown of Lower Egypt and the white tiara of Upper Egypt. The Pyramids at Memphis The Giza Plateau, near Memphis, is home to three of the most famous Ancient Egyptian Pyramids, the tombs of Cheops, Khafre and Menkaure, Pharaohs of the 4th Dynasty (2620-2500 BC). The experts of the Institut, hurrying to Memphis, explored the plateau and made numerous views of these majestic pyramids, towering over inhabitants and mounted figures. They also made minutely detailed views of the epigraphs on the tombs adjacent to the pyramids, as well as views of the Sphinx of Gaza near the Pyramid of Khafre. Views of Alexandria A plate taken from a set of view of Alexandria as it was found by Napoleon's army in June 1798. Embarking in Toulon on the 14th May, his troops disembarked at Alexandria a month later and explored this port city before heading towards Cairo to take the capital. " Imprimerie Impériale Paris _1809-1829 "70x51,5cm" une feuille‎

‎"DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE. Qâou el Kebyreh (Antaeopolis). Vue du temple prise du côté du Sud-Ouest. (ANTIQUITES, volume IV, planche 40)"‎

‎" - Imprimerie Impériale, Paris 1809-1829, 71x54cm, une feuille. - Gravure originale à l'eau-forte in plano, non rognée, extraite de l'édition dite « Impériale » de la Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand. Réalisée entre février 1802 et 1829 sur ordre de Napoléon Bonaparte et publiée à partir de 1809 [en réalité 1810], elle fut tirée à 1000 exemplaires sur Vergé filigrané « Égypte ancienne et moderne » et offerte aux institutions. Légère trace de pli en coin supérieur droit, sinon excellent état de fraîcheur et de conservation. Volume ANTIQUITES, IV : Ces gravures fournissent à Jean-François Champollion une documentation épigraphique fondamentale pour le déchiffrage des hiéroglyphes et inspirent une lignée d'archéologues comme Mariette, Maspero et Carter qui donnent un nouveau visage à l'Egypte ancienne. Elles suscitent un engouement tel qu'elles donnent naissance au phénomène de l'égyptomanie et à l'orientalisme de Delacroix, Fromentin, Marilhat, Decamps mais aussi Théophile Gautier... Financiers, politiciens, marchands, et fouilleurs de tous ordres se presseront sur les rives du Nil en quête de bonnes affaires à la suite de cette redécouverte de l'Egypte. A l'origine de l'égyptologie, ces planches connaîtront une postérité immense. LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, édition IMPERIALE (1809-1829) : La Description de l'Egypte est un des chefs d'uvre de l'édition française et le point de départ d'une nouvelle science : l'égyptologie. Titanesque exposé de l'Egypte au temps des conquêtes de Bonaparte entre 1798 et 1799, elle est répartie en 23 volumes dont 13 volumes de gravures rassemblant près de 1000 planches en noir et 72 en couleur. Les 6 volumes de planches intitulées Antiquités sont consacrés aux splendeurs de l'Egypte pharaonique. L'Histoire naturelle est répartie en 3 volumes de gravures. Un volume est consacré aux Cartes géographiques et topographiques tandis que les 3 volumes : Etat Moderne dressent un portrait saisissant de l'Egypte copte et islamique telle qu'elle était vue par les armées d'Orient de Bonaparte. La « campagne d'Egypte », désastre militaire, dévoile à travers les gravures de la Description de l'Egypte la réussite scientifique qu'elle est devenue, grâce aux quelques 167 savants membres de la Commission des sciences et des arts de l'Institut d'Egypte qui suivaient l'armée de Napoléon. L'Institut a réuni en Egypte le mathématicien Monge, le chimiste Berthollet, le naturaliste Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ainsi que de nombreux artistes, ingénieurs, architectes, médecins... Ils eurent la charge de redécouvrir l'Egypte moderne et antique, d'en montrer les richesses naturelles, et le savoir-faire de ses habitants. L'édition originale, dite « Impériale », de la Description de l'Egypte fut réalisée sur quatre formats de grande taille, deux d'entre eux spécialement créés pour elle et baptisés formats « Moyen-Egypte » et « Grand-Egypte ». On construisit une presse spécifique pour son impression, qui s'étala sur vingt ans, entre 1809 et 1829. L'édition Impériale s'avéra si populaire qu'une deuxième édition en 37 volumes entièrement en noir et sans le filigrane « Egypte ancienne et moderne », dite édition « Panckoucke », fut publiée à partir de 1821 par l'imprimerie C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). La réalisation de ce monument d'érudition doit beaucoup au baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrateur, diplomate, collectionneur et par la suite directeur du musée Napoléon du Louvre qui accompagna Napoléon en Egypte avec de nombreux autres savants mais décida seul de s'aventurer dans le Sud du pays, alors que les autres scientifiques conviés restaient confinés dans la région du Caire. Les fabuleux croquis rapportés par Denon lors de sa romanesque chevauchée donnèrent l'idée à Bonaparte d'y envoyer les autres membres de l'Institut et ainsi dresser un portrait fidèle et complet du territoire. A la suite de Denon, ce sont donc les plus grands scientifiques et artistes français qui s'aventurèrent le long du Nil jusqu'en Nubie. Parmi eux, le peintre au muséum d'histoire naturelle H.J. Redouté (frère de Pierre-Joseph Redouté, auteur des Roses), le minéralogiste Dolomieu, le dessinateur Joly, et les ingénieurs Fourier et Costaz, chargés de l'étude scientifique des vestiges antiques de Haute-Egypte. Sans doute pour la première fois réunie dans une telle expédition, l'élite scientifique et artistique française, composée de plus de 160 « savants » dont près de 50 artistes, étudie méthodiquement l'Egypte pendant trois ans. Ils réalisent alors, sous l'égide et à la gloire de Napoléon, la plus vaste analyse historique, géographique, scientifique, économique et ethnologique jamais réalisée sur un pays. Mais ce sont peut-être les gravures qui constituèrent le défi technique majeur de cette Description de l'Egypte, comme en témoigne Yves Laissus, commissaire de l'exposition organisée en 2009 par la RMN et le Musée de l'Armée aux Invalides : « L'illustration, 836 planches dont une soixantaine en couleurs, gravées à l'eau forte et au burin dans des formats jusqu'alors inusités (le plus grand couvre près d'un mètre carré), a nécessité la construction de nouvelles formes et cuves pour la fabrication du papier, justifié l'invention, par Nicolas Conté, d'une machine destinée à alléger la besogne des graveurs, et exigé la réalisation de nouvelles presses capables d'imprimer ces images immenses. Certaines d'entre elles ont demandé deux années de travail. Près de 200 graveurs ont reproduit sur le cuivre les uvres de 62 dessinateurs dont 46 ont participé à l'expédition. » Rare et superbe gravure originale d'une exceptionnelle facture et qualité graphique, témoignage d'une des plus ambitieuses aventures éditoriales françaises. - Photos sur www.Edition-originale.com - [AUTOMATIC ENGLISH TRANSLATION FOLLOWS] Original, unshaved, full-page etching from the ""Imperial edition"" of the Description de l'Égypte, or 'Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand [A Collection of the observations and research carried out in Egypt during the French expedition, published on the orders of his Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great]'. Produced between February 1802 and 1830 on the orders of Naopleon Bonaparte and published between 1809 and 1828, 1,000 copies were printed and distributed to institutions, on vergé paper with an 'Égypte ancienne et moderne' watermark, visible when held up to the light. Light marginal spotting not touching image, otherwise in very fresh, fine condition. An engraving from the Description de l'Egypte, one of the masterpieces of French printing and the birth of a new field: Egyptology. A gigantic survey of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests in 1798 and 1799, the work is divided into 13 volumes of engravings making up 892 plates, of which 72 colored, as well as presenting the splendors of the Egypt of the Pharaohs in 9 volumes. The other volumes discuss natural history and present a fascinating portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's Eastern Armies. The 'Egyptian campaign', militarily a disaster, demonstrates, through the engravings of the Description d'Egypte, the scientific success it nonetheless became thanks to the 167 expert members of the Commission of the Sciences and Arts of the Institut d'Egypte [Egyptian Institute] who followed Napoleon's army. The Institut gathered together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects and doctors. They were tasked with re-discovering modern and ancient Egypt and displaying its natural treasures as well as the know-how of its inhabitants. This edition, the so-called ""Imperial"" edition of the plates for the Description de l'Egypte was printed in four large formats, two of which were specially created for it and christened ""Moyen-Egypte"" and ""Grand-Egypte"". A special press was built to print it, the process extending over 20 years, from 1809 to 1829. The ""Imperial"" edition proved so popular that a second edition, this time in black and white and without the ""Egypte ancienne et moderne"" watermark - known as the ""Royal Edition"" - was published during the Restoration by the printing house of C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). The engravings of the Description d'Egypte owe a great deal to Baron Dominique-Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later Director of the Musée Napoléon (the Louvre). His exploration of the South of Egypt gave Bonaparte the idea of sending the experts of the Institut there, thus creating a faithful and complete portrait of the area. This was the research gathered together from 1802 in the mammoth Description de L'Egypte. Denon embarked on this story of archeological exploration at the age of 51, reaching first Alexandria and then Cairo before exploring Upper Egypt. Along with the members of the Institut d'Egypte, the Natural History Museum's painter H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of Roses), the mineralogist Dolomiue, and the draughtsman Joly, Denon then explored the Nile Delta and Lower Egypt. When, however, he joined the 21st Light Infantry Regiment as it marched across Upper Egypt in pursuit of the retreating Mameluks in November 1798, he found himself the only civilian. In the very midst of the battle itself, he reeled off sketches of the works of art that peppered his path right up to the threshold of the Sudan. He said that he had crossed ""a country that is, apart from its name, entirely unknown to Europeans, and therefore everything was worth describing"" (Voyages dans la Basse et la Haute Egypte pendant les campagnes de Bonaparte en 1798 et 1799, 1817). On his return to Cairo, the great general, spellbound by Denon's accounts and drawings ordered two commissions to be set up, led by the engineers Fourier and Costaz. They were tasked with the scientific study of the ancient remains in Upper Egypt; research that proved a significant contribution to the monumental Description d'Egypte, from which this plate is taken. ANCIENT EGYPTThese engravings therefore represent a unique body of material that contributed to Jean-François Champollion's deciphering of hieroglyphics, and which mark the beginning of the line of Mariette, Maspero and Carter, who would reshape the face of Ancient Egypt. They also started a craze that gave birth to the phenomenon of Egyptomania and the Orientalism of Delacroix, Fromentin, Marilhat, Decamps and Théophile Gautier. Financiers, politicians, merchants and all kinds of treasure-hunters made their way to the banks of the Nile in search of riches, following this rediscovery of Egypt. The originators of Egyptology, these plates were to have a hugely influential afterlife. NATURAL HISTORYThese engravings show the scientific genius of the French experts then working on the ground in Egypt, laying the foundations for its becoming a French colony. This colonizing project, which had been mooted since the reign of Louis XIV, was now accompanied - with Bonaparte's arrival - by an in-depth study of the country's fauna and flora thanks to the work of the most eminent naturalists, mineralogists, and entomologists of the day. The Description de l'Egypte shows all of this immense scientific undertaking through its engravings, which were done after drawings by members of the Academy of Science, including Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hillaire, Alire Raffenau-Delile and Henri-Joseph Redouté. In the words of Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ""We have gathered the material for the greatest work that a nation could hope to undertake. In mourning the fate of so many brave soldiers who - after so many glorious exploits - fell in Egypt, we shall be able to console ourselves that such precious works came into being."" MODERN EGYPTThe genius of the experts of the Institut d'Egypte is revealed in the plates of the section known as ""Modern Egypte"". Architecture, industry, social organization, conditions of health, irrigation, music, and crafts, are all presented with exceptional precision and powers of description. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie runs through the work of the draughtsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompanied the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, undertaking to produce a portrait of the local population that was imbued with both beauty and respect. Wealthy Pashas and simple artisan potters are sensitively represented here, going about their business in beautifully composed images that nonetheless do not fall into the traps of idealism or caricature. ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE (the ""Cairo"" plates) The set of engravings to which this plate belongs constitutes one of the first complete studies of the monuments of Islamic Egypt in Cairo, bringing together maps, sections and elevations of mosques, mausoleums and fortifications, from the Tulunid era in the 9th century up to the Mameluk constructions contemporaneous with the arrival of the Bonapartist troops. At the same time, the architects and engineers of the Institut d'Egypte also made a big series of plates dedicated to civilian housing and edifices in Cairo, including both grander and more modest constructions, providing a precious picture of life in Cairo at the end of the 19th century. BAB AL FOUTOUH Bab el-Foutouh, "" The Conquest Gate"" marks the northern limit of Fatimid old Cairo. Rebuilt in 1087, it is highly defensive in nature owing to the turbulent climate in 11th Century Cairo, which saw a number of popular uprisings. An imposing gate, it has two semicircular towers with low-slung arches made of heavy blocks of stone anchored within the ramparts. The sizeable passage through the gate (4.85m wide by 6.79m high) has a shallow dome. BAB EL NASR Bab el-Nasr, ""The Victory Gate"" is on the northern wall of the Fatimid fortress in Cairo. Its two enormous rectangular towers were rebuilt in 1087 after a long period of popular uprisings. On this highly attractive frontal image signed Protain, one can admire the sculpted shields in the corners of the gate and on the towers, symbolizing victory and protection against invaders. After taking Cairo, Napoleon named all the towers along the wall of the fortress after the officers assigned to guard them. Their names are still engraved on the upper parts of the walls of the gate. SULTAN HASSAN MOSQUEThe massive architectural complex constructed by Sultan Hassan at the foot of the citadel in Cairo was built in the ostentatious style so characteristic of Mameluk architecture. Completed in 1356, the Sultan Hassan Mosque has a monumental gate and a 57m high minaret. This group of buildings, comprising a mausoleum that was never put to use, was strategically built on the site of a square that saw the start of a number of popular uprisings. The mosque was heavily inspired by Iranian models. Philae This plate is taken from a set of engravings dedicated to the Temple of Isis on the island of Philae. The final bastion of the worship of the ancient Egyptian gods, the temple of Isis was the last pagan temple to be in use before it was closed in the 6th century A.D. under Justinian. Construction on the temple began under the Ptolemies, a period of growth for the Isis cult. Isis was the sister and wife of Osiris and mother to Horus. Kom Ombo (Ombos) The Kom Ombo site, 40 kilometers from Aswan, is home to one of the best preserved ancient Egyptian temples, dedicated to Sobek, a crocodile god and Haroeris, a form of Horus. Built in the Ptolemaic era, it was actually founded during the XVIIIth Dynasty. Its massive Composite capitals and highly accomplished reliefs are captured accurately by the draughtsmen of the Institut d'Egypte, Jollois, Balzac and Cécile. The dual aspect of its design, intended for worship of two different divine triads - those of Sobek and Haroeris - is reproduced in great detail by the architects and engineers of the Egyptian campaign through this set of prints, which preceded the first archeological digs in the building by Auguste Mariette in 1828. Edfu This plate is taken from a series of views of the great temple at Edfu and the various buildings in its cultic complex. The temple of Horus, a jewel of Ptolemaic architecture and exceptionally well-preserved, is made up of a majestic entry gate and a hypostyle chamber, which are both extensively documented thanks to the engravings by the experts of the Institut d'Egypte. Begun in 237 BC by Ptolemy III and completed 180 years later under Tiberius, it proved an extraordinary sight for the draughtsmen come to explore the left bank of the Nile. Esna and its environs The town of Esna (Esneh or Latopolis in Bonaparte's time), lies fifty kilometers to the south of Luxor. The experts from the Institut de l'Egypte documented their discovery of its temple, dedicated to Khnum, one of the gods of creation who worked with clay and had the head of a ram; he controlled the life-giving flooding of the Nile, the source of fertility. He was associated with Nebt-uu, the mistress of the countryside and Menhyt, a goddess with the head of a lion. This temple, partially rebuilt during the Ptolemaic era, was added to right up to the reign of Tiberius. The draughtsmen also produced a number of views of the neighboring temples, most notably the less well-preserved temple of Contra-Latopolis to the north of Esna. Thebes Medinet-Habu Close to Thebes and Luxor on the left bank of the Nile, the city of Medinet-Habu is home to one of the most attractive temples of New Kingdom period Egypt, the mortuary temple of Ramses III. This dates from the middle of the 12th century BC, and is based on the famous Ramesseum of his predecessor, which it surpasses in size. A funerary temple celebrating the Pharaoh, the experts of the Institut d'Egypte set about creating cross-sections, plans and elevations, and most especially capturing its numerous bas-reliefs. The architects and draughtsmen also focused on the Royal Palace and its internal peristyle within the 12-metre fortress that encircles the religious complex, including the Temple of Amon, located at the south-east of the site and begun in the reign of Hatshepsut at the end of the 15th Century BC. Memnonium The Memnonium, a name used by visitors to the Valley of the Kings from 1750 to 1850, refers to a set of three royal buildings constructed during the New Kingdom: the Ramesseum, the Temple of Amenhotep III and the Temple of Sethi I. The draughtsmen and architects of Bonaparte's Institut, sent out on expedition across Upper Egypt from 1799 documented Thebes and the Valley of the Kings, even attempting to reconstruct some of the buildings on the basis of descriptions by Classical authors. The tomb of Ozymandias (one of the numerous names of Ramses II), in a very poor state, thus became the subject of very thorough study and an attempt to fill in its missing bits on the basis of the writings of Diodurus Siculus. This Greek historian of the Augustine period stayed in the valley of the Nile from 60-57 BC and his visit to the tomb of Ramses II is recounted in his monumental Bibliotheca Historica (Book I, XLVII-XLIX).At the same time, the experts also made extremely detailed studies and views of the Colossi of Memnon, all that remains of a huge memorial temple to Amenhotep III built on the road to the necropolis in the Valley of the Kings. These colossi were located at the entrance to the temple in front of a preliminary pylon made of brick. These two statues represent King Amenhotep III framed to the right by the great Royal Consort Tiy and to the left by the Queen Mother Mutemwiya. Hypogea and Biban el Moluk This plate is taken from a series of engravings of the hypogea in the Valley of the Kings (Biban el Moluk) in Thebes. Some are in color to show the vivid hues of the sarcophaguses and mysterious murals whose secret had yet to be broken by Jean-François Champollion. The draughtsmen of the Institut, including the famous Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, sent by Napoleon to cover Upper Egypt in 1799, capture with élan the royal mummies and the artifacts that accompanied the dead in their journey to the netherworld: urns, furniture, weapons, idols and the mummies of numerous mammals and birds. Karnak This plate is from a set on the Great Temple at Karnak, built during the New Kingdom at the time of Ramses III. This enormous complex is divided into three parts and is dedicated to the Theban Triad of gods, Amun, Mut and Khonsu. Its sculptures, internal bas-reliefs and sunken reliefs on the external facades are intricately captured by the engineers of the Institut, while the architects worked out the complex groundplan of this edifice, which was divided into facades, colonnaded halls and sacral spaces reserved for the temple priests. The alley of the monumental sphinx which links the site to the Luxor site was also the subject of a plate by Lepère, an architect from the Institut who took part in the expedition across Upper Egypt. Dendera The experts executed views and drawings of the temples of Dendera (or Tentyra), a city in Upper Egypt 60km to the north of Luxor. They have captured, with an exceptional degree of graphic artistry, the thick, round nature of the sculpted reliefs of the great Temple of Hathor, built under the Ptolemies in the first half of the 1st century BC. They also produced interesting views of the neighboring temples as well as a selection of reliefs of the ""Dendera Zodiac"", a chapel dedicated to Osiris and located beneath the temple of Hathor. Its famous astronomical relief was discovered by the French General Desaix - stationed in Upper Egypt by Bonaparte from 1798 - and taken back to France in 1821 by Claude Lelorrain; it is now on display in the Louvre. Another astronomical and cosmological relief on the ceiling of the hypostyle hall of the Temple of Hathor is the subject of a magnificent plate by Jollois and Devilliers. This covers seven soffit coffers of the ceiling and is an immense allegorical image showing several levels of consciousness: that of cosmogony, the constellations and their effect on the Earth, the creation of Man, and the Nomes of Egypt, symbolized by 21 pairs of wings topped with the red crown of Lower Egypt and the white tiara of Upper Egypt. The Pyramids at Memphis The Giza Plateau, near Memphis, is home to three of the most famous Ancient Egyptian Pyramids, the tombs of Cheops, Khafre and Menkaure, Pharaohs of the 4th Dynasty (2620-2500 BC). The experts of the Institut, hurrying to Memphis, explored the plateau and made numerous views of these majestic pyramids, towering over inhabitants and mounted figures. They also made minutely detailed views of the epigraphs on the tombs adjacent to the pyramids, as well as views of the Sphinx of Gaza near the Pyramid of Khafre. Views of Alexandria A plate taken from a set of view of Alexandria as it was found by Napoleon's army in June 1798. Embarking in Toulon on the 14th May, his troops disembarked at Alexandria a month later and explored this port city before heading towards Cairo to take the capital. " Imprimerie Impériale Paris _1809-1829 71x54cm une feuille‎

‎"DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE. Thèbes. Memnomium. Détails de chars sculptés sur le premier pylône et tête de l'une des statues du tombeau d'Osymandyas, Débris du pied gauche de la statue colossale d'Osymandyas. (ANTIQUITES, volume II, planche 32)"‎

‎" - Imprimerie Impériale, Paris 1809-1829, 53,5x71cm, une feuille. - Gravure originale à l'eau-forte in plano, non rognée, extraite de l'édition dite « Impériale » de la Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand. Réalisée entre février 1802 et 1829 sur ordre de Napoléon Bonaparte et publiée à partir de 1809 [en réalité 1810], elle fut tirée à 1000 exemplaires sur Vergé filigrané « Égypte ancienne et moderne » et offerte aux institutions. Légères et marginales rousseurs sans aucune atteinte à la gravure, sinon très bel état de fraîcheur et de conservation. MEMNONIUM DE THEBES : Le Memnonium, nom utilisé par les visiteurs de la vallée des Rois de 1750 à 1850, désigne un ensemble de trois constructions royales du Nouvel Empire : le Ramesseum, le temple d'Aménhotep III et le temple de Séthi Ier. Les dessinateurs et architectes de l'Institut créé par Bonaparte, envoyés en expédition à travers la Haute-Egypte à partir de 1799, documentent Thèbes et sa vallée des Rois, et s'essaient même à des reconstitutions d'après les descriptions de monuments faites par des auteurs antiques. Le tombeau d'Osymandias (une des nombreuses appellations de Ramsès II), très ruiné, fait ainsi l'objet d'une étude très complète et d'une tentative de restitution de ses parties lacunaires grâce aux écrits de Diodore de Sicile. Cet historien grec de l'époque augustéenne a séjourné dans la vallée du Nil entre 60 et 57 avant notre ère, et sa visite au tombeau de Ramsès II est relatée dans sa monumentale Bibliothèque Historique (Livre I, XLVII-XLIX). Parallèlement, les savants effectuent des relevés et des vues extrêmement détaillées des colosses dits « de Memnon », seuls restes de l'immense temple mémorial d'Amenhotep III construit sur la route menant à la nécropole de la vallée des Rois. Ils étaient placés à l'entrée du temple, devant un premier pylône construit en briques. Ces deux statues représentent le roi Amenhotep III, encadré à droite de la grande épouse royale Tiyi et à gauche de la reine mère Moutemouia. Volume ANTIQUITES, II : Ces gravures fournissent à Jean-François Champollion une documentation épigraphique fondamentale pour le déchiffrage des hiéroglyphes et inspirent une lignée d'archéologues comme Mariette, Maspero et Carter qui donnent un nouveau visage à l'Egypte ancienne. Elles suscitent un engouement tel qu'elles donnent naissance au phénomène de l'égyptomanie et à l'orientalisme de Delacroix, Fromentin, Marilhat, Decamps mais aussi Théophile Gautier... Financiers, politiciens, marchands, et fouilleurs de tous ordres se presseront sur les rives du Nil en quête de bonnes affaires à la suite de cette redécouverte de l'Egypte. A l'origine de l'égyptologie, ces planches connaîtront une postérité immense. LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, édition IMPERIALE (1809-1829) : La Description de l'Egypte est un des chefs d'uvre de l'édition française et le point de départ d'une nouvelle science : l'égyptologie. Titanesque exposé de l'Egypte au temps des conquêtes de Bonaparte entre 1798 et 1799, elle est répartie en 23 volumes dont 13 volumes de gravures rassemblant près de 1000 planches en noir et 72 en couleur. Les 6 volumes de planches intitulées Antiquités sont consacrés aux splendeurs de l'Egypte pharaonique. L'Histoire naturelle est répartie en 3 volumes de gravures. Un volume est consacré aux Cartes géographiques et topographiques tandis que les 3 volumes : Etat Moderne dressent un portrait saisissant de l'Egypte copte et islamique telle qu'elle était vue par les armées d'Orient de Bonaparte. La « campagne d'Egypte », désastre militaire, dévoile à travers les gravures de la Description de l'Egypte la réussite scientifique qu'elle est devenue, grâce aux quelques 167 savants membres de la Commission des sciences et des arts de l'Institut d'Egypte qui suivaient l'armée de Napoléon. L'Institut a réuni en Egypte le mathématicien Monge, le chimiste Berthollet, le naturaliste Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ainsi que de nombreux artistes, ingénieurs, architectes, médecins... Ils eurent la charge de redécouvrir l'Egypte moderne et antique, d'en montrer les richesses naturelles, et le savoir-faire de ses habitants. L'édition originale, dite « Impériale », de la Description de l'Egypte fut réalisée sur quatre formats de grande taille, deux d'entre eux spécialement créés pour elle et baptisés formats « Moyen-Egypte » et « Grand-Egypte ». On construisit une presse spécifique pour son impression, qui s'étala sur vingt ans, entre 1809 et 1829. L'édition Impériale s'avéra si populaire qu'une deuxième édition en 37 volumes entièrement en noir et sans le filigrane « Egypte ancienne et moderne », dite édition « Panckoucke », fut publiée à partir de 1821 par l'imprimerie C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). La réalisation de ce monument d'érudition doit beaucoup au baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrateur, diplomate, collectionneur et par la suite directeur du musée Napoléon du Louvre qui accompagna Napoléon en Egypte avec de nombreux autres savants mais décida seul de s'aventurer dans le Sud du pays, alors que les autres scientifiques conviés restaient confinés dans la région du Caire. Les fabuleux croquis rapportés par Denon lors de sa romanesque chevauchée donnèrent l'idée à Bonaparte d'y envoyer les autres membres de l'Institut et ainsi dresser un portrait fidèle et complet du territoire. A la suite de Denon, ce sont donc les plus grands scientifiques et artistes français qui s'aventurèrent le long du Nil jusqu'en Nubie. Parmi eux, le peintre au muséum d'histoire naturelle H.J. Redouté (frère de Pierre-Joseph Redouté, auteur des Roses), le minéralogiste Dolomieu, le dessinateur Joly, et les ingénieurs Fourier et Costaz, chargés de l'étude scientifique des vestiges antiques de Haute-Egypte. Sans doute pour la première fois réunie dans une telle expédition, l'élite scientifique et artistique française, composée de plus de 160 « savants » dont près de 50 artistes, étudie méthodiquement l'Egypte pendant trois ans. Ils réalisent alors, sous l'égide et à la gloire de Napoléon, la plus vaste analyse historique, géographique, scientifique, économique et ethnologique jamais réalisée sur un pays. Mais ce sont peut-être les gravures qui constituèrent le défi technique majeur de cette Description de l'Egypte, comme en témoigne Yves Laissus, commissaire de l'exposition organisée en 2009 par la RMN et le Musée de l'Armée aux Invalides : « L'illustration, 836 planches dont une soixantaine en couleurs, gravées à l'eau forte et au burin dans des formats jusqu'alors inusités (le plus grand couvre près d'un mètre carré), a nécessité la construction de nouvelles formes et cuves pour la fabrication du papier, justifié l'invention, par Nicolas Conté, d'une machine destinée à alléger la besogne des graveurs, et exigé la réalisation de nouvelles presses capables d'imprimer ces images immenses. Certaines d'entre elles ont demandé deux années de travail. Près de 200 graveurs ont reproduit sur le cuivre les uvres de 62 dessinateurs dont 46 ont participé à l'expédition. » Rare et superbe gravure originale d'une exceptionnelle facture et qualité graphique, témoignage d'une des plus ambitieuses aventures éditoriales françaises. - Photos sur www.Edition-originale.com - [AUTOMATIC ENGLISH TRANSLATION FOLLOWS] Original, unshaved, full-page etching from the ""Imperial edition"" of the Description de l'Égypte, or 'Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand [A Collection of the observations and research carried out in Egypt during the French expedition, published on the orders of his Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great]'. Produced between February 1802 and 1830 on the orders of Naopleon Bonaparte and published between 1809 and 1828, 1,000 copies were printed and distributed to institutions, on vergé paper with an 'Égypte ancienne et moderne' watermark, visible when held up to the light. Light marginal spotting not touching image, otherwise in very fresh, fine condition. An engraving from the Description de l'Egypte, one of the masterpieces of French printing and the birth of a new field: Egyptology. A gigantic survey of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests in 1798 and 1799, the work is divided into 13 volumes of engravings making up 892 plates, of which 72 colored, as well as presenting the splendors of the Egypt of the Pharaohs in 9 volumes. The other volumes discuss natural history and present a fascinating portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's Eastern Armies. The 'Egyptian campaign', militarily a disaster, demonstrates, through the engravings of the Description d'Egypte, the scientific success it nonetheless became thanks to the 167 expert members of the Commission of the Sciences and Arts of the Institut d'Egypte [Egyptian Institute] who followed Napoleon's army. The Institut gathered together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects and doctors. They were tasked with re-discovering modern and ancient Egypt and displaying its natural treasures as well as the know-how of its inhabitants. This edition, the so-called ""Imperial"" edition of the plates for the Description de l'Egypte was printed in four large formats, two of which were specially created for it and christened ""Moyen-Egypte"" and ""Grand-Egypte"". A special press was built to print it, the process extending over 20 years, from 1809 to 1829. The ""Imperial"" edition proved so popular that a second edition, this time in black and white and without the ""Egypte ancienne et moderne"" watermark - known as the ""Royal Edition"" - was published during the Restoration by the printing house of C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). The engravings of the Description d'Egypte owe a great deal to Baron Dominique-Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later Director of the Musée Napoléon (the Louvre). His exploration of the South of Egypt gave Bonaparte the idea of sending the experts of the Institut there, thus creating a faithful and complete portrait of the area. This was the research gathered together from 1802 in the mammoth Description de L'Egypte. Denon embarked on this story of archeological exploration at the age of 51, reaching first Alexandria and then Cairo before exploring Upper Egypt. Along with the members of the Institut d'Egypte, the Natural History Museum's painter H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of Roses), the mineralogist Dolomiue, and the draughtsman Joly, Denon then explored the Nile Delta and Lower Egypt. When, however, he joined the 21st Light Infantry Regiment as it marched across Upper Egypt in pursuit of the retreating Mameluks in November 1798, he found himself the only civilian. In the very midst of the battle itself, he reeled off sketches of the works of art that peppered his path right up to the threshold of the Sudan. He said that he had crossed ""a country that is, apart from its name, entirely unknown to Europeans, and therefore everything was worth describing"" (Voyages dans la Basse et la Haute Egypte pendant les campagnes de Bonaparte en 1798 et 1799, 1817). On his return to Cairo, the great general, spellbound by Denon's accounts and drawings ordered two commissions to be set up, led by the engineers Fourier and Costaz. They were tasked with the scientific study of the ancient remains in Upper Egypt; research that proved a significant contribution to the monumental Description d'Egypte, from which this plate is taken. ANCIENT EGYPTThese engravings therefore represent a unique body of material that contributed to Jean-François Champollion's deciphering of hieroglyphics, and which mark the beginning of the line of Mariette, Maspero and Carter, who would reshape the face of Ancient Egypt. They also started a craze that gave birth to the phenomenon of Egyptomania and the Orientalism of Delacroix, Fromentin, Marilhat, Decamps and Théophile Gautier. Financiers, politicians, merchants and all kinds of treasure-hunters made their way to the banks of the Nile in search of riches, following this rediscovery of Egypt. The originators of Egyptology, these plates were to have a hugely influential afterlife. NATURAL HISTORYThese engravings show the scientific genius of the French experts then working on the ground in Egypt, laying the foundations for its becoming a French colony. This colonizing project, which had been mooted since the reign of Louis XIV, was now accompanied - with Bonaparte's arrival - by an in-depth study of the country's fauna and flora thanks to the work of the most eminent naturalists, mineralogists, and entomologists of the day. The Description de l'Egypte shows all of this immense scientific undertaking through its engravings, which were done after drawings by members of the Academy of Science, including Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hillaire, Alire Raffenau-Delile and Henri-Joseph Redouté. In the words of Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ""We have gathered the material for the greatest work that a nation could hope to undertake. In mourning the fate of so many brave soldiers who - after so many glorious exploits - fell in Egypt, we shall be able to console ourselves that such precious works came into being."" MODERN EGYPTThe genius of the experts of the Institut d'Egypte is revealed in the plates of the section known as ""Modern Egypte"". Architecture, industry, social organization, conditions of health, irrigation, music, and crafts, are all presented with exceptional precision and powers of description. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie runs through the work of the draughtsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompanied the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, undertaking to produce a portrait of the local population that was imbued with both beauty and respect. Wealthy Pashas and simple artisan potters are sensitively represented here, going about their business in beautifully composed images that nonetheless do not fall into the traps of idealism or caricature. ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE (the ""Cairo"" plates) The set of engravings to which this plate belongs constitutes one of the first complete studies of the monuments of Islamic Egypt in Cairo, bringing together maps, sections and elevations of mosques, mausoleums and fortifications, from the Tulunid era in the 9th century up to the Mameluk constructions contemporaneous with the arrival of the Bonapartist troops. At the same time, the architects and engineers of the Institut d'Egypte also made a big series of plates dedicated to civilian housing and edifices in Cairo, including both grander and more modest constructions, providing a precious picture of life in Cairo at the end of the 19th century. BAB AL FOUTOUH Bab el-Foutouh, "" The Conquest Gate"" marks the northern limit of Fatimid old Cairo. Rebuilt in 1087, it is highly defensive in nature owing to the turbulent climate in 11th Century Cairo, which saw a number of popular uprisings. An imposing gate, it has two semicircular towers with low-slung arches made of heavy blocks of stone anchored within the ramparts. The sizeable passage through the gate (4.85m wide by 6.79m high) has a shallow dome. BAB EL NASR Bab el-Nasr, ""The Victory Gate"" is on the northern wall of the Fatimid fortress in Cairo. Its two enormous rectangular towers were rebuilt in 1087 after a long period of popular uprisings. On this highly attractive frontal image signed Protain, one can admire the sculpted shields in the corners of the gate and on the towers, symbolizing victory and protection against invaders. After taking Cairo, Napoleon named all the towers along the wall of the fortress after the officers assigned to guard them. Their names are still engraved on the upper parts of the walls of the gate. SULTAN HASSAN MOSQUEThe massive architectural complex constructed by Sultan Hassan at the foot of the citadel in Cairo was built in the ostentatious style so characteristic of Mameluk architecture. Completed in 1356, the Sultan Hassan Mosque has a monumental gate and a 57m high minaret. This group of buildings, comprising a mausoleum that was never put to use, was strategically built on the site of a square that saw the start of a number of popular uprisings. The mosque was heavily inspired by Iranian models. Philae This plate is taken from a set of engravings dedicated to the Temple of Isis on the island of Philae. The final bastion of the worship of the ancient Egyptian gods, the temple of Isis was the last pagan temple to be in use before it was closed in the 6th century A.D. under Justinian. Construction on the temple began under the Ptolemies, a period of growth for the Isis cult. Isis was the sister and wife of Osiris and mother to Horus. Kom Ombo (Ombos) The Kom Ombo site, 40 kilometers from Aswan, is home to one of the best preserved ancient Egyptian temples, dedicated to Sobek, a crocodile god and Haroeris, a form of Horus. Built in the Ptolemaic era, it was actually founded during the XVIIIth Dynasty. Its massive Composite capitals and highly accomplished reliefs are captured accurately by the draughtsmen of the Institut d'Egypte, Jollois, Balzac and Cécile. The dual aspect of its design, intended for worship of two different divine triads - those of Sobek and Haroeris - is reproduced in great detail by the architects and engineers of the Egyptian campaign through this set of prints, which preceded the first archeological digs in the building by Auguste Mariette in 1828. Edfu This plate is taken from a series of views of the great temple at Edfu and the various buildings in its cultic complex. The temple of Horus, a jewel of Ptolemaic architecture and exceptionally well-preserved, is made up of a majestic entry gate and a hypostyle chamber, which are both extensively documented thanks to the engravings by the experts of the Institut d'Egypte. Begun in 237 BC by Ptolemy III and completed 180 years later under Tiberius, it proved an extraordinary sight for the draughtsmen come to explore the left bank of the Nile. Esna and its environs The town of Esna (Esneh or Latopolis in Bonaparte's time), lies fifty kilometers to the south of Luxor. The experts from the Institut de l'Egypte documented their discovery of its temple, dedicated to Khnum, one of the gods of creation who worked with clay and had the head of a ram; he controlled the life-giving flooding of the Nile, the source of fertility. He was associated with Nebt-uu, the mistress of the countryside and Menhyt, a goddess with the head of a lion. This temple, partially rebuilt during the Ptolemaic era, was added to right up to the reign of Tiberius. The draughtsmen also produced a number of views of the neighboring temples, most notably the less well-preserved temple of Contra-Latopolis to the north of Esna. Thebes Medinet-Habu Close to Thebes and Luxor on the left bank of the Nile, the city of Medinet-Habu is home to one of the most attractive temples of New Kingdom period Egypt, the mortuary temple of Ramses III. This dates from the middle of the 12th century BC, and is based on the famous Ramesseum of his predecessor, which it surpasses in size. A funerary temple celebrating the Pharaoh, the experts of the Institut d'Egypte set about creating cross-sections, plans and elevations, and most especially capturing its numerous bas-reliefs. The architects and draughtsmen also focused on the Royal Palace and its internal peristyle within the 12-metre fortress that encircles the religious complex, including the Temple of Amon, located at the south-east of the site and begun in the reign of Hatshepsut at the end of the 15th Century BC. Memnonium The Memnonium, a name used by visitors to the Valley of the Kings from 1750 to 1850, refers to a set of three royal buildings constructed during the New Kingdom: the Ramesseum, the Temple of Amenhotep III and the Temple of Sethi I. The draughtsmen and architects of Bonaparte's Institut, sent out on expedition across Upper Egypt from 1799 documented Thebes and the Valley of the Kings, even attempting to reconstruct some of the buildings on the basis of descriptions by Classical authors. The tomb of Ozymandias (one of the numerous names of Ramses II), in a very poor state, thus became the subject of very thorough study and an attempt to fill in its missing bits on the basis of the writings of Diodurus Siculus. This Greek historian of the Augustine period stayed in the valley of the Nile from 60-57 BC and his visit to the tomb of Ramses II is recounted in his monumental Bibliotheca Historica (Book I, XLVII-XLIX).At the same time, the experts also made extremely detailed studies and views of the Colossi of Memnon, all that remains of a huge memorial temple to Amenhotep III built on the road to the necropolis in the Valley of the Kings. These colossi were located at the entrance to the temple in front of a preliminary pylon made of brick. These two statues represent King Amenhotep III framed to the right by the great Royal Consort Tiy and to the left by the Queen Mother Mutemwiya. Hypogea and Biban el Moluk This plate is taken from a series of engravings of the hypogea in the Valley of the Kings (Biban el Moluk) in Thebes. Some are in color to show the vivid hues of the sarcophaguses and mysterious murals whose secret had yet to be broken by Jean-François Champollion. The draughtsmen of the Institut, including the famous Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, sent by Napoleon to cover Upper Egypt in 1799, capture with élan the royal mummies and the artifacts that accompanied the dead in their journey to the netherworld: urns, furniture, weapons, idols and the mummies of numerous mammals and birds. Karnak This plate is from a set on the Great Temple at Karnak, built during the New Kingdom at the time of Ramses III. This enormous complex is divided into three parts and is dedicated to the Theban Triad of gods, Amun, Mut and Khonsu. Its sculptures, internal bas-reliefs and sunken reliefs on the external facades are intricately captured by the engineers of the Institut, while the architects worked out the complex groundplan of this edifice, which was divided into facades, colonnaded halls and sacral spaces reserved for the temple priests. The alley of the monumental sphinx which links the site to the Luxor site was also the subject of a plate by Lepère, an architect from the Institut who took part in the expedition across Upper Egypt. Dendera The experts executed views and drawings of the temples of Dendera (or Tentyra), a city in Upper Egypt 60km to the north of Luxor. They have captured, with an exceptional degree of graphic artistry, the thick, round nature of the sculpted reliefs of the great Temple of Hathor, built under the Ptolemies in the first half of the 1st century BC. They also produced interesting views of the neighboring temples as well as a selection of reliefs of the ""Dendera Zodiac"", a chapel dedicated to Osiris and located beneath the temple of Hathor. Its famous astronomical relief was discovered by the French General Desaix - stationed in Upper Egypt by Bonaparte from 1798 - and taken back to France in 1821 by Claude Lelorrain; it is now on display in the Louvre. Another astronomical and cosmological relief on the ceiling of the hypostyle hall of the Temple of Hathor is the subject of a magnificent plate by Jollois and Devilliers. This covers seven soffit coffers of the ceiling and is an immense allegorical image showing several levels of consciousness: that of cosmogony, the constellations and their effect on the Earth, the creation of Man, and the Nomes of Egypt, symbolized by 21 pairs of wings topped with the red crown of Lower Egypt and the white tiara of Upper Egypt. The Pyramids at Memphis The Giza Plateau, near Memphis, is home to three of the most famous Ancient Egyptian Pyramids, the tombs of Cheops, Khafre and Menkaure, Pharaohs of the 4th Dynasty (2620-2500 BC). The experts of the Institut, hurrying to Memphis, explored the plateau and made numerous views of these majestic pyramids, towering over inhabitants and mounted figures. They also made minutely detailed views of the epigraphs on the tombs adjacent to the pyramids, as well as views of the Sphinx of Gaza near the Pyramid of Khafre. Views of Alexandria A plate taken from a set of view of Alexandria as it was found by Napoleon's army in June 1798. Embarking in Toulon on the 14th May, his troops disembarked at Alexandria a month later and explored this port city before heading towards Cairo to take the capital. " Imprimerie Impériale Paris _1809-1829 "53,5x71cm" une feuille‎

‎"DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE. Thèbes. Memnomium. Détails de chars sculptés sur le premier pylône et tête de l'une des statues du tombeau d'Osymandyas, Débris du pied gauche de la statue colossale d'Osymandyas. (ANTIQUITES, volume II, planche 32)"‎

‎" - Imprimerie Impériale, Paris 1809-1829, 53,5x71cm, une feuille. - Gravure originale à l'eau-forte in plano, non rognée, extraite de l'édition dite « Impériale » de la Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand. Réalisée entre février 1802 et 1829 sur ordre de Napoléon Bonaparte et publiée à partir de 1809 [en réalité 1810], elle fut tirée à 1000 exemplaires sur Vergé filigrané « Égypte ancienne et moderne » et offerte aux institutions. Légère trace de pli en coin supérieur droit, sinon excellent état de fraîcheur et de conservation. MEMNONIUM DE THEBES : Le Memnonium, nom utilisé par les visiteurs de la vallée des Rois de 1750 à 1850, désigne un ensemble de trois constructions royales du Nouvel Empire : le Ramesseum, le temple d'Aménhotep III et le temple de Séthi Ier. Les dessinateurs et architectes de l'Institut créé par Bonaparte, envoyés en expédition à travers la Haute-Egypte à partir de 1799, documentent Thèbes et sa vallée des Rois, et s'essaient même à des reconstitutions d'après les descriptions de monuments faites par des auteurs antiques. Le tombeau d'Osymandias (une des nombreuses appellations de Ramsès II), très ruiné, fait ainsi l'objet d'une étude très complète et d'une tentative de restitution de ses parties lacunaires grâce aux écrits de Diodore de Sicile. Cet historien grec de l'époque augustéenne a séjourné dans la vallée du Nil entre 60 et 57 avant notre ère, et sa visite au tombeau de Ramsès II est relatée dans sa monumentale Bibliothèque Historique (Livre I, XLVII-XLIX). Parallèlement, les savants effectuent des relevés et des vues extrêmement détaillées des colosses dits « de Memnon », seuls restes de l'immense temple mémorial d'Amenhotep III construit sur la route menant à la nécropole de la vallée des Rois. Ils étaient placés à l'entrée du temple, devant un premier pylône construit en briques. Ces deux statues représentent le roi Amenhotep III, encadré à droite de la grande épouse royale Tiyi et à gauche de la reine mère Moutemouia. Volume ANTIQUITES, II : Ces gravures fournissent à Jean-François Champollion une documentation épigraphique fondamentale pour le déchiffrage des hiéroglyphes et inspirent une lignée d'archéologues comme Mariette, Maspero et Carter qui donnent un nouveau visage à l'Egypte ancienne. Elles suscitent un engouement tel qu'elles donnent naissance au phénomène de l'égyptomanie et à l'orientalisme de Delacroix, Fromentin, Marilhat, Decamps mais aussi Théophile Gautier... Financiers, politiciens, marchands, et fouilleurs de tous ordres se presseront sur les rives du Nil en quête de bonnes affaires à la suite de cette redécouverte de l'Egypte. A l'origine de l'égyptologie, ces planches connaîtront une postérité immense. LA DESCRIPTION DE L'EGYPTE, édition IMPERIALE (1809-1829) : La Description de l'Egypte est un des chefs d'uvre de l'édition française et le point de départ d'une nouvelle science : l'égyptologie. Titanesque exposé de l'Egypte au temps des conquêtes de Bonaparte entre 1798 et 1799, elle est répartie en 23 volumes dont 13 volumes de gravures rassemblant près de 1000 planches en noir et 72 en couleur. Les 6 volumes de planches intitulées Antiquités sont consacrés aux splendeurs de l'Egypte pharaonique. L'Histoire naturelle est répartie en 3 volumes de gravures. Un volume est consacré aux Cartes géographiques et topographiques tandis que les 3 volumes : Etat Moderne dressent un portrait saisissant de l'Egypte copte et islamique telle qu'elle était vue par les armées d'Orient de Bonaparte. La « campagne d'Egypte », désastre militaire, dévoile à travers les gravures de la Description de l'Egypte la réussite scientifique qu'elle est devenue, grâce aux quelques 167 savants membres de la Commission des sciences et des arts de l'Institut d'Egypte qui suivaient l'armée de Napoléon. L'Institut a réuni en Egypte le mathématicien Monge, le chimiste Berthollet, le naturaliste Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ainsi que de nombreux artistes, ingénieurs, architectes, médecins... Ils eurent la charge de redécouvrir l'Egypte moderne et antique, d'en montrer les richesses naturelles, et le savoir-faire de ses habitants. L'édition originale, dite « Impériale », de la Description de l'Egypte fut réalisée sur quatre formats de grande taille, deux d'entre eux spécialement créés pour elle et baptisés formats « Moyen-Egypte » et « Grand-Egypte ». On construisit une presse spécifique pour son impression, qui s'étala sur vingt ans, entre 1809 et 1829. L'édition Impériale s'avéra si populaire qu'une deuxième édition en 37 volumes entièrement en noir et sans le filigrane « Egypte ancienne et moderne », dite édition « Panckoucke », fut publiée à partir de 1821 par l'imprimerie C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). La réalisation de ce monument d'érudition doit beaucoup au baron Dominique Vivant Denon, illustrateur, diplomate, collectionneur et par la suite directeur du musée Napoléon du Louvre qui accompagna Napoléon en Egypte avec de nombreux autres savants mais décida seul de s'aventurer dans le Sud du pays, alors que les autres scientifiques conviés restaient confinés dans la région du Caire. Les fabuleux croquis rapportés par Denon lors de sa romanesque chevauchée donnèrent l'idée à Bonaparte d'y envoyer les autres membres de l'Institut et ainsi dresser un portrait fidèle et complet du territoire. A la suite de Denon, ce sont donc les plus grands scientifiques et artistes français qui s'aventurèrent le long du Nil jusqu'en Nubie. Parmi eux, le peintre au muséum d'histoire naturelle H.J. Redouté (frère de Pierre-Joseph Redouté, auteur des Roses), le minéralogiste Dolomieu, le dessinateur Joly, et les ingénieurs Fourier et Costaz, chargés de l'étude scientifique des vestiges antiques de Haute-Egypte. Sans doute pour la première fois réunie dans une telle expédition, l'élite scientifique et artistique française, composée de plus de 160 « savants » dont près de 50 artistes, étudie méthodiquement l'Egypte pendant trois ans. Ils réalisent alors, sous l'égide et à la gloire de Napoléon, la plus vaste analyse historique, géographique, scientifique, économique et ethnologique jamais réalisée sur un pays. Mais ce sont peut-être les gravures qui constituèrent le défi technique majeur de cette Description de l'Egypte, comme en témoigne Yves Laissus, commissaire de l'exposition organisée en 2009 par la RMN et le Musée de l'Armée aux Invalides : « L'illustration, 836 planches dont une soixantaine en couleurs, gravées à l'eau forte et au burin dans des formats jusqu'alors inusités (le plus grand couvre près d'un mètre carré), a nécessité la construction de nouvelles formes et cuves pour la fabrication du papier, justifié l'invention, par Nicolas Conté, d'une machine destinée à alléger la besogne des graveurs, et exigé la réalisation de nouvelles presses capables d'imprimer ces images immenses. Certaines d'entre elles ont demandé deux années de travail. Près de 200 graveurs ont reproduit sur le cuivre les uvres de 62 dessinateurs dont 46 ont participé à l'expédition. » Rare et superbe gravure originale d'une exceptionnelle facture et qualité graphique, témoignage d'une des plus ambitieuses aventures éditoriales françaises. - Photos sur www.Edition-originale.com - [AUTOMATIC ENGLISH TRANSLATION FOLLOWS] Original, unshaved, full-page etching from the ""Imperial edition"" of the Description de l'Égypte, or 'Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand [A Collection of the observations and research carried out in Egypt during the French expedition, published on the orders of his Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great]'. Produced between February 1802 and 1830 on the orders of Naopleon Bonaparte and published between 1809 and 1828, 1,000 copies were printed and distributed to institutions, on vergé paper with an 'Égypte ancienne et moderne' watermark, visible when held up to the light. Light marginal spotting not touching image, otherwise in very fresh, fine condition. An engraving from the Description de l'Egypte, one of the masterpieces of French printing and the birth of a new field: Egyptology. A gigantic survey of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests in 1798 and 1799, the work is divided into 13 volumes of engravings making up 892 plates, of which 72 colored, as well as presenting the splendors of the Egypt of the Pharaohs in 9 volumes. The other volumes discuss natural history and present a fascinating portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's Eastern Armies. The 'Egyptian campaign', militarily a disaster, demonstrates, through the engravings of the Description d'Egypte, the scientific success it nonetheless became thanks to the 167 expert members of the Commission of the Sciences and Arts of the Institut d'Egypte [Egyptian Institute] who followed Napoleon's army. The Institut gathered together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects and doctors. They were tasked with re-discovering modern and ancient Egypt and displaying its natural treasures as well as the know-how of its inhabitants. This edition, the so-called ""Imperial"" edition of the plates for the Description de l'Egypte was printed in four large formats, two of which were specially created for it and christened ""Moyen-Egypte"" and ""Grand-Egypte"". A special press was built to print it, the process extending over 20 years, from 1809 to 1829. The ""Imperial"" edition proved so popular that a second edition, this time in black and white and without the ""Egypte ancienne et moderne"" watermark - known as the ""Royal Edition"" - was published during the Restoration by the printing house of C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris). The engravings of the Description d'Egypte owe a great deal to Baron Dominique-Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later Director of the Musée Napoléon (the Louvre). His exploration of the South of Egypt gave Bonaparte the idea of sending the experts of the Institut there, thus creating a faithful and complete portrait of the area. This was the research gathered together from 1802 in the mammoth Description de L'Egypte. Denon embarked on this story of archeological exploration at the age of 51, reaching first Alexandria and then Cairo before exploring Upper Egypt. Along with the members of the Institut d'Egypte, the Natural History Museum's painter H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of Roses), the mineralogist Dolomiue, and the draughtsman Joly, Denon then explored the Nile Delta and Lower Egypt. When, however, he joined the 21st Light Infantry Regiment as it marched across Upper Egypt in pursuit of the retreating Mameluks in November 1798, he found himself the only civilian. In the very midst of the battle itself, he reeled off sketches of the works of art that peppered his path right up to the threshold of the Sudan. He said that he had crossed ""a country that is, apart from its name, entirely unknown to Europeans, and therefore everything was worth describing"" (Voyages dans la Basse et la Haute Egypte pendant les campagnes de Bonaparte en 1798 et 1799, 1817). On his return to Cairo, the great general, spellbound by Denon's accounts and drawings ordered two commissions to be set up, led by the engineers Fourier and Costaz. They were tasked with the scientific study of the ancient remains in Upper Egypt; research that proved a significant contribution to the monumental Description d'Egypte, from which this plate is taken. ANCIENT EGYPTThese engravings therefore represent a unique body of material that contributed to Jean-François Champollion's deciphering of hieroglyphics, and which mark the beginning of the line of Mariette, Maspero and Carter, who would reshape the face of Ancient Egypt. They also started a craze that gave birth to the phenomenon of Egyptomania and the Orientalism of Delacroix, Fromentin, Marilhat, Decamps and Théophile Gautier. Financiers, politicians, merchants and all kinds of treasure-hunters made their way to the banks of the Nile in search of riches, following this rediscovery of Egypt. The originators of Egyptology, these plates were to have a hugely influential afterlife. NATURAL HISTORYThese engravings show the scientific genius of the French experts then working on the ground in Egypt, laying the foundations for its becoming a French colony. This colonizing project, which had been mooted since the reign of Louis XIV, was now accompanied - with Bonaparte's arrival - by an in-depth study of the country's fauna and flora thanks to the work of the most eminent naturalists, mineralogists, and entomologists of the day. The Description de l'Egypte shows all of this immense scientific undertaking through its engravings, which were done after drawings by members of the Academy of Science, including Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hillaire, Alire Raffenau-Delile and Henri-Joseph Redouté. In the words of Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ""We have gathered the material for the greatest work that a nation could hope to undertake. In mourning the fate of so many brave soldiers who - after so many glorious exploits - fell in Egypt, we shall be able to console ourselves that such precious works came into being."" MODERN EGYPTThe genius of the experts of the Institut d'Egypte is revealed in the plates of the section known as ""Modern Egypte"". Architecture, industry, social organization, conditions of health, irrigation, music, and crafts, are all presented with exceptional precision and powers of description. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie runs through the work of the draughtsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompanied the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, undertaking to produce a portrait of the local population that was imbued with both beauty and respect. Wealthy Pashas and simple artisan potters are sensitively represented here, going about their business in beautifully composed images that nonetheless do not fall into the traps of idealism or caricature. ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE (the ""Cairo"" plates) The set of engravings to which this plate belongs constitutes one of the first complete studies of the monuments of Islamic Egypt in Cairo, bringing together maps, sections and elevations of mosques, mausoleums and fortifications, from the Tulunid era in the 9th century up to the Mameluk constructions contemporaneous with the arrival of the Bonapartist troops. At the same time, the architects and engineers of the Institut d'Egypte also made a big series of plates dedicated to civilian housing and edifices in Cairo, including both grander and more modest constructions, providing a precious picture of life in Cairo at the end of the 19th century. BAB AL FOUTOUH Bab el-Foutouh, "" The Conquest Gate"" marks the northern limit of Fatimid old Cairo. Rebuilt in 1087, it is highly defensive in nature owing to the turbulent climate in 11th Century Cairo, which saw a number of popular uprisings. An imposing gate, it has two semicircular towers with low-slung arches made of heavy blocks of stone anchored within the ramparts. The sizeable passage through the gate (4.85m wide by 6.79m high) has a shallow dome. BAB EL NASR Bab el-Nasr, ""The Victory Gate"" is on the northern wall of the Fatimid fortress in Cairo. Its two enormous rectangular towers were rebuilt in 1087 after a long period of popular uprisings. On this highly attractive frontal image signed Protain, one can admire the sculpted shields in the corners of the gate and on the towers, symbolizing victory and protection against invaders. After taking Cairo, Napoleon named all the towers along the wall of the fortress after the officers assigned to guard them. Their names are still engraved on the upper parts of the walls of the gate. SULTAN HASSAN MOSQUEThe massive architectural complex constructed by Sultan Hassan at the foot of the citadel in Cairo was built in the ostentatious style so characteristic of Mameluk architecture. Completed in 1356, the Sultan Hassan Mosque has a monumental gate and a 57m high minaret. This group of buildings, comprising a mausoleum that was never put to use, was strategically built on the site of a square that saw the start of a number of popular uprisings. The mosque was heavily inspired by Iranian models. Philae This plate is taken from a set of engravings dedicated to the Temple of Isis on the island of Philae. The final bastion of the worship of the ancient Egyptian gods, the temple of Isis was the last pagan temple to be in use before it was closed in the 6th century A.D. under Justinian. Construction on the temple began under the Ptolemies, a period of growth for the Isis cult. Isis was the sister and wife of Osiris and mother to Horus. Kom Ombo (Ombos) The Kom Ombo site, 40 kilometers from Aswan, is home to one of the best preserved ancient Egyptian temples, dedicated to Sobek, a crocodile god and Haroeris, a form of Horus. Built in the Ptolemaic era, it was actually founded during the XVIIIth Dynasty. Its massive Composite capitals and highly accomplished reliefs are captured accurately by the draughtsmen of the Institut d'Egypte, Jollois, Balzac and Cécile. The dual aspect of its design, intended for worship of two different divine triads - those of Sobek and Haroeris - is reproduced in great detail by the architects and engineers of the Egyptian campaign through this set of prints, which preceded the first archeological digs in the building by Auguste Mariette in 1828. Edfu This plate is taken from a series of views of the great temple at Edfu and the various buildings in its cultic complex. The temple of Horus, a jewel of Ptolemaic architecture and exceptionally well-preserved, is made up of a majestic entry gate and a hypostyle chamber, which are both extensively documented thanks to the engravings by the experts of the Institut d'Egypte. Begun in 237 BC by Ptolemy III and completed 180 years later under Tiberius, it proved an extraordinary sight for the draughtsmen come to explore the left bank of the Nile. Esna and its environs The town of Esna (Esneh or Latopolis in Bonaparte's time), lies fifty kilometers to the south of Luxor. The experts from the Institut de l'Egypte documented their discovery of its temple, dedicated to Khnum, one of the gods of creation who worked with clay and had the head of a ram; he controlled the life-giving flooding of the Nile, the source of fertility. He was associated with Nebt-uu, the mistress of the countryside and Menhyt, a goddess with the head of a lion. This temple, partially rebuilt during the Ptolemaic era, was added to right up to the reign of Tiberius. The draughtsmen also produced a number of views of the neighboring temples, most notably the less well-preserved temple of Contra-Latopolis to the north of Esna. Thebes Medinet-Habu Close to Thebes and Luxor on the left bank of the Nile, the city of Medinet-Habu is home to one of the most attractive temples of New Kingdom period Egypt, the mortuary temple of Ramses III. This dates from the middle of the 12th century BC, and is based on the famous Ramesseum of his predecessor, which it surpasses in size. A funerary temple celebrating the Pharaoh, the experts of the Institut d'Egypte set about creating cross-sections, plans and elevations, and most especially capturing its numerous bas-reliefs. The architects and draughtsmen also focused on the Royal Palace and its internal peristyle within the 12-metre fortress that encircles the religious complex, including the Temple of Amon, located at the south-east of the site and begun in the reign of Hatshepsut at the end of the 15th Century BC. Memnonium The Memnonium, a name used by visitors to the Valley of the Kings from 1750 to 1850, refers to a set of three royal buildings constructed during the New Kingdom: the Ramesseum, the Temple of Amenhotep III and the Temple of Sethi I. The draughtsmen and architects of Bonaparte's Institut, sent out on expedition across Upper Egypt from 1799 documented Thebes and the Valley of the Kings, even attempting to reconstruct some of the buildings on the basis of descriptions by Classical authors. The tomb of Ozymandias (one of the numerous names of Ramses II), in a very poor state, thus became the subject of very thorough study and an attempt to fill in its missing bits on the basis of the writings of Diodurus Siculus. This Greek historian of the Augustine period stayed in the valley of the Nile from 60-57 BC and his visit to the tomb of Ramses II is recounted in his monumental Bibliotheca Historica (Book I, XLVII-XLIX).At the same time, the experts also made extremely detailed studies and views of the Colossi of Memnon, all that remains of a huge memorial temple to Amenhotep III built on the road to the necropolis in the Valley of the Kings. These colossi were located at the entrance to the temple in front of a preliminary pylon made of brick. These two statues represent King Amenhotep III framed to the right by the great Royal Consort Tiy and to the left by the Queen Mother Mutemwiya. Hypogea and Biban el Moluk This plate is taken from a series of engravings of the hypogea in the Valley of the Kings (Biban el Moluk) in Thebes. Some are in color to show the vivid hues of the sarcophaguses and mysterious murals whose secret had yet to be broken by Jean-François Champollion. The draughtsmen of the Institut, including the famous Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, sent by Napoleon to cover Upper Egypt in 1799, capture with élan the royal mummies and the artifacts that accompanied the dead in their journey to the netherworld: urns, furniture, weapons, idols and the mummies of numerous mammals and birds. Karnak This plate is from a set on the Great Temple at Karnak, built during the New Kingdom at the time of Ramses III. This enormous complex is divided into three parts and is dedicated to the Theban Triad of gods, Amun, Mut and Khonsu. Its sculptures, internal bas-reliefs and sunken reliefs on the external facades are intricately captured by the engineers of the Institut, while the architects worked out the complex groundplan of this edifice, which was divided into facades, colonnaded halls and sacral spaces reserved for the temple priests. The alley of the monumental sphinx which links the site to the Luxor site was also the subject of a plate by Lepère, an architect from the Institut who took part in the expedition across Upper Egypt. Dendera The experts executed views and drawings of the temples of Dendera (or Tentyra), a city in Upper Egypt 60km to the north of Luxor. They have captured, with an exceptional degree of graphic artistry, the thick, round nature of the sculpted reliefs of the great Temple of Hathor, built under the Ptolemies in the first half of the 1st century BC. They also produced interesting views of the neighboring temples as well as a selection of reliefs of the ""Dendera Zodiac"", a chapel dedicated to Osiris and located beneath the temple of Hathor. Its famous astronomical relief was discovered by the French General Desaix - stationed in Upper Egypt by Bonaparte from 1798 - and taken back to France in 1821 by Claude Lelorrain; it is now on display in the Louvre. Another astronomical and cosmological relief on the ceiling of the hypostyle hall of the Temple of Hathor is the subject of a magnificent plate by Jollois and Devilliers. This covers seven soffit coffers of the ceiling and is an immense allegorical image showing several levels of consciousness: that of cosmogony, the constellations and their effect on the Earth, the creation of Man, and the Nomes of Egypt, symbolized by 21 pairs of wings topped with the red crown of Lower Egypt and the white tiara of Upper Egypt. The Pyramids at Memphis The Giza Plateau, near Memphis, is home to three of the most famous Ancient Egyptian Pyramids, the tombs of Cheops, Khafre and Menkaure, Pharaohs of the 4th Dynasty (2620-2500 BC). The experts of the Institut, hurrying to Memphis, explored the plateau and made numerous views of these majestic pyramids, towering over inhabitants and mounted figures. They also made minutely detailed views of the epigraphs on the tombs adjacent to the pyramids, as well as views of the Sphinx of Gaza near the Pyramid of Khafre. Views of Alexandria A plate taken from a set of view of Alexandria as it was found by Napoleon's army in June 1798. Embarking in Toulon on the 14th May, his troops disembarked at Alexandria a month later and explored this port city before heading towards Cairo to take the capital. " Imprimerie Impériale Paris _1809-1829 "53,5x71cm" une feuille‎