The nineteenth century was a time of major archaeological discovery in Egypt and the near East, but it is striking that the European discovery of Egypt’s past preceded that of the region’s oldest civilization, that of Mesopotamia (Iraq), by some years. Why was this? The remains of ancient Egypt had always had a place in Western consciousness. Collected and written about by the ancient Greeks and Romans, they had found their way into Europe from the earliest days. The remains

For the archaeologist-excavators of ancient Egypt and the near East, all hidden treasures were of interest - but the collectors  of these treasures were often particularly interested in  those artefacts that contained textual  remains. These seemed likely to reveal far more detail about their societies than mute images and architectural elements. Thus the Rosetta Stone of ancient Egypt was highly coveted when it was found by the French in 1799, and was chief among the trophie

A new exhibition, curated by printmaker Fritha Langerman, charts the centenary of Michaelis, the University of Cape Town’s school of fine...

The Elgin marbles are today perhaps the most notorious of the ancient art collections taken from foreign lands in the nineteenth century...

Boris Tietze in the 1950s... ...and 1980s Boris Tietze (17/2/1928-15/2/2024), my father, died last year after a long life dedicated to...

The Moleskins is a biography of Cecil Michaelis (1913-1997), son of the Randlord Sir Max Michaelis, and in his own right an artist,...

The question of authenticity is a vital one within the art world. Correct identification of the producer of an artwork has major...

Azaria Mbatha, The Revelation of St John (1965), linocut print on paper, 376x680mm. With the South Africa Act of 1909, the various...

Many public art collections have depended heavily, in their early years, on gifts from private collectors and this was certainly true of...