Promotional Information

A cultural and political history of the struggle for physical and moral ownership of Egyptian antiquities.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: The Egyptian Sculpture Room 1
1. The Artification of the Memnon Head 24
Ozymandias 67
2. Conflicted Antiquities: Islam’s Pharaoh and Emergent Egyptology 72
The Antiqakhana 116
3. Pharaonic Selves 121
Two Pharaohs 166
4. The Discovery of Tutankhamen’s Tomb: Archaeology, Politics, and Literature 172
Nahdat Misr 227
5. Pharaonism after Pharaonism: Mahfouz and Qutb 234
Conclusion 273
Notes 279
Bibliography 311
Index 329

About the Author

Elliott Colla is Associate Professor of Comparative Literature at Brown University.

Reviews

"Conflicted Antiquities is superb, the definitive work on the place of ancient Egypt in the imaginations and politics of Europe and Egypt. Elliott Colla presents translations and analyses of Arabic literature not previously available, and he brings together for the first time European and modern Egyptian appropriations of and discourses on ancient Egypt. The range of materials that he analyzes is astounding and rich; the footnotes alone are worth the price of the book." -- Lila Abu-Lughod, author of Dramas of Nationhood: The Politics of Television in Egypt "Written in an engaging, thoughtful, and provocative style, Conflicted Antiquities provides a unique perspective on the 'consumption' of ancient Egypt. What makes it distinctive is Elliott Colla's focus on Egyptian readings of the ancient past, an area which has been greatly neglected. Colla has much that is fresh and new to contribute, especially since the resources on which he draws are not widely known nor easy to get hold of."-- Stephanie Moser, author of Wondrous Curiosities: Ancient Egypt at the British Museum "The history of the archaeology of ancient Egypt is fairly straightforward, one might think, but, as this excellent thought-provoking book reveals it is far more complex than that...This book shows that the study of ancient Egypt and its material legacy was as important and as consequential for modern Egyptians as it was for Europeans. It is a fascinating and enlightening story." Robert B. Partridge, Ancient Egypt. The History, People and Culture of the Nile Valley, Vol. 9, Issue 49, August/September 2008