This Spotlight Lecture will follow our Annual General Meeting. If you are an EES member, please book your AGM attendance separately here.
Stories are all around us. They are powerful vehicles for shared cultural tropes and for the construction and dissemination of ideas. Did stories play a comparable role in ancient Egypt? And what do they tell us about our relationship with the past?
In this lecture, I will reflect on the practice of storytelling and the ways in which it facilitates engagement with objects from ancient Egypt. From Snefru’s reaction to the loss of a fish-shaped pendant to a vivid description of Sinuhe’s funerary equipment to a jar that bears bad news to Seth’s stone racing boat, objects are inserted into dense networks of meaning, playing important roles in ancient Egyptian stories. But ancient objects also face modern retellings, sometimes with lasting consequences. Using 19th century collector Major William Joseph Myers as a case study, I will demonstrate how stories continue to be crafted around objects in order to shape and justify personal connections with them, fostering different narratives about Egyptian heritage.
Funds generated from ticket sales will directly contribute to the ongoing work of the Society. Thank you.
Papyrus Westcar (Berlin P 3033), Photo: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung/Public Domain Mark 1.0.
Booking and information
Register for your place in advance using the link below. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about your booking. If you do not receive your email, then please check your junk folders before contacting the Egypt Exploration Society. The event will be held on our Zoom platform and attendees will be able to interact by asking questions and using the chat.
The event will be recorded and made available to attendees after the event. After a six-month embargo, the event will be made publicly available via YouTube.
Please ensure that you have read our guide to attending EES online events before the course begins.
