This Master of Arts thesis presents the results of research undertaken on two collections of Egyptian antiquities held at the University of Melbourne. The first collection belongs to Queen’s College and is known as the Dodgson Collection. The second collection, known as the Petrie Collection, forms a small part of the larger Classics and Archaeology Collection, belonging to the Centre for Classics and Archaeology and is housed at the Ian Potter Museum of Art. / Prior to undertaking the research for this thesis little was known of these collections and their origins. Through consultation and analysis of archival sources and published material it was possible reconstruct the genesis and history of these two collections of Egyptian antiquities. / The Dodgson Collection was bequeathed to Queen’s College in 1892 by the Reverend James Dodgson. This much was known, however it was unclear as to how James came to posses the material. My research has uncovered that the collection was created by Aquila Dodgson, brother of James, who lived in England. Aquila was greatly interested in ancient Egypt and became a friend of the English Egyptologist, Flinders Petrie. It was through this friendship that Aquila was able to acquire ancient Egyptian artefacts, some of which now reside in the Dodgson Collection at Queen’s College. / Equally under recognised, very little was known about the second collection, comprising thirty two Egyptian artefacts, commonly referred to as the Petrie Collection. It was assumed the collection had been acquired from Flinders Petrie as a result of a list and a number of handwritten notes found in the Classics and Archaeology Collection archive. My research into the collection and the archive material has discovered that the collection had been created by two brothers, Edward Eustace Miller and Everard Studley Miller. Some items had been acquired whilst on a trip to Egypt during the Australian summer of 1910–1911, although the bulk of the collection was given to Everard (living in Melbourne) by his brother Edward (living in London), who had acquired the material while working for Flinders Petrie in Egypt in 1920. The collection made its way to the University of Melbourne in 1957 after the death of Everard, who had bequeathed the material to the Classical Association of Victoria in 1956. The Association gave the collection to the then Classics Department in early 1957.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/285690 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Elias, Christine |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Restricted Access: Abstract and Citation Only |
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