Name of Object:

Mr Drovetti and his entourage measuring a fragment of the Colossus in Upper Egypt

Other name of the Object (second name):

Taken from Voyage dans le Levant en 1817 et 1818, by M. le Comte de Forbin

Location:

Paris, France

Holding Institution:

National Library of France

 About National Library of France, Paris

Date of Object:

1819

Inventory Number:

UB-199-FT 4

Description:

Bernardino Drovetti (1776–1852) an Italian who joined the French army, was made a diplomat after having elicited Napoléon I's sympathy by saving his step-brother. Having been sent to Egypt as a consul, he then collected antiquities and thus portrayed himself as a defender of discovered treasures. He is pictured here with his team holding a plumb line in front of a colossus. Jean-Jacques Rifaud is leaning on the sculpture's head and dressed in an imitation of the local style. Dovretti later sold his collections to the Prince of Piedmont, to King Charles X of France and to the King of Prussia.

Type of Object

Print

Archival or Bibliographical Reference:

UB-199-FT 4

Citation of this web page:

"Mr Drovetti and his entourage measuring a fragment of the Colossus in Upper Egypt" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2026.
https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;AWE;fr;10;en

Translation by: Flaminia Baldwin

MWNF Working Number: FR 010