The Bissing Link: The Collections and Network of Egyptologist F. W. von Bissing (1873–1956)

One of the largest collections of Egyptian and Sudanese antiquities worldwide was accrued by the Egyptologist Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Bissing (1873–1956). As a scholar, university professor, and politically engaged Prussian nobleman he was an important link in the international network of Egyptology and in the distribution of archaeological objects to museums. He was also active in other disciplines regarding the ancient world, such as Etruscology. Already during his life, the collection was dispersed over different museums. Scholars are now trying to reconstruct it and better understand von Bissing’s role in early-twentieth-century Egyptology and related fields. This volume includes a short biography of von Bissing. The main part consists of papers that investigate his role in Egyptology and archaeology, some aspects of his personal and political life, and the way archaeological objects were transferred to museum collections by his agency or donation. The papers not only illustrate von Bissing’s position, but also contribute to the reconstruction of his collection. They constitute a useful tool for scholars working on museum collections, the history of Egyptology, and related fields of study.

Table of Contents:
Preface Els van der Plas Bissing Links Lars Petersen & Ben van den Bercken The So-called Von Bissing Tomb (Tomb C1) in el-Salamuni Wahid Omran Von Bissing and the Expedition to the Sun Temple of Neuserre Massimiliano Nuzzolo ‘Dear Garstang!’ Von Bissing’s Role in Distributing Finds from Beni Hasan to German Collections Lubica Hudáková & Uta Siffert Friedrich Wilhelm von Bissing: A Stakeholder for the Würzburg Collection? Eva Kurz Beyond Egypt: Von Bissing’s Involvement in the Austrian Excavations at Shechem, 1913–1914 Felix Höflmayer and Agnes Woitzuck Von Bissing’s Collection between Munich, The Hague, and Hannover Christian E. Loeben Friedrich Wilhelm von Bissing’s Letters to Gaston Maspero Thomas Lebée Von Bissing and his Network Willem van Haarlem Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Bissing and the Egyptian Collections in Munich: A Short History Jan-Michael Dahms, Arnulf Schlüter, Martina Ullmann Friedrich Wilhelm von Bissing in the Focus of Egyptological and Historical Research: 1914–1926 Peter Raulwing & Thomas Gertzen Nubian Links: Two Metal Vessels from the Von Bissing Collection in the Allard Pierson Ben van den Bercken Von Bissing Linked? The Bissing Link Project Inventory and Future Research Directions Willem van Haarlem & Ben van den Bercken

About the Author :
Lars Petersen studied Classical Archaeology, Egyptology, and Near Eastern Studies at the universities of Tübingen, Paris, and Freiburg. He works as a curator and head of the Exhibitions Department for the Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe. Petersen curated several exhibitions on archaeology, such as Ramesses the Great and lately Art Nouveau. He also teaches museology at the university of Freiburg. Ben van den Bercken (MA) studied Egyptian Archaeology at Leiden University and Museum Studies at the University of Amsterdam. He worked at excavations in Alexandria and as an assistant-curator in the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden (RMO). Since 2021 he is curator for the Ancient Egypt and Sudan collection at the Allard Pierson – the collections of the University of Amsterdam.