Subscribe now for full access and no adverts
Following George Reisner’s discovery (in 1925) and meticulous excavation of the Tomb of Queen Hetepheres I at Giza, William Arnold Stewart was engaged by Reisner to reconstruct the furniture (‘the carrying-chair, the bed, the arm-chair, the jewel- box, and the headrest’) from the tomb. This was an extraordinarily difficult task, as the wood had in many cases disintegrated to dust and only the gold sheathing remained. Stewart had to make new wood (and, in one case, plaster) cores to which he attached the gold. The work was carried out, with the assistance of a local carpenter and a chauffeur mechanic, using minimal tools, in a mud-brick shed behind the Giza pyramids. Stewart worked on the project from September 1927 to January 1930, after which the reconstruction of the bed canopy was completed by Bernard Rice.
Stewart was encouraged by Alfred Lucas to publish a book detailing the process of reconstruction, but his completed draft remained unpublished at his death in 1953. The manuscript was discovered in a shed in Pitlochry (Scotland) after the death (in 1981) of his daughter Jean. Cyril Aldred suggested that it should be given to the Griffith Institute (University of Oxford). It has now been edited by Geoffrey Killen to produce this impressive volume, published by the Institute.
The work begins with a biography of Stewart (by Helen Farrar and Geoffrey Killen), outlining his education and early career as an artist and photographer, his appointment as the first director of the Egyptian School of Arts and Decorations, his work on Hetepheres’ furniture, and his subsequent glittering career in the Colonial Service in Palestine. Stewart’s manuscript is reproduced in full, edited by Killen, with photographs supplied by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The reconstruction of each of the items of furniture is described in full, with notes and corrections by Killen. Stewart kept a handwritten diary with daily entries detailing the work he undertook. This, transcribed in full and accompanied by Stewart’s drawings, forms the largest part of the book. It is followed by an article by Julie Dawson on methods and practice of conservation, putting Stewart’s work into its historical context. An appendix illustrates Killen’s replication of the reconstruction of the lion-shaped bed leg, using gold leaf on a plaster core.
Without Stewart’s patient endeavour, the full beauty and craftsmanship of the furniture of the elite members of Old Kingdom society would have been lost forever, and this book is a fitting tribute to his consummate skill.
REVIEW BY JPP
Learn about the meticulous excavation of Hetepheres’ tomb in AE 153, and the furniture reconstruction in AE 154.
The Reconstruction of the Furniture of Queen Hetepheres I, the Mother of the Pharaoh Khufu
W A Stewart, completed and edited by Geoffrey P Killen
Griffith Institute Publications, Peeters/The Griffith Institute, University of Oxford, 2025
ISBN 978-9-0429-5312-3
Hardback, €170
