The Forcart Collection of lamps from Fayum

Abstract

The Forcart collection of Ptolemaic, Roman and Late Roman lamps from Fayum is today the largest single-collector Egyptian lychnological corpus owned by a Swiss public institution, the Geneva Museum of Art and History, which acquired it in 1923. The importance of the 145 lamps in this collection is twofold. Firstly, all the artifacts were offered to Max Kurt Forcart by the different directors of excavations operating legally in the Fayum area during the first two decades of the 20th century, giving us a clear—even if generic—finding area, contrary to collections purchased from the various antiquaries. And secondly, even if incomplete compared to the richness and diversity of the Fayum workshops, the chronological and typological range it covers makes it a perfect companion to the only two published and illustrated lamp catalogs of regular excavations made in the area: the early 1900s work of W.M.F. Petrie at Ehnasya and the later investigations by the University of Michigan team at Karanis. Also highlighted are the unique Fayum fashions and approaches to the importation, adoption or rejection of common types found in the Nile Delta, as well as the emergence of typically microregional subtypes as discussed by John W. Hayes.

Keywords

• terracotta lamps
• Hellenistic
• Roman
• museum collection
• Geneva
• Egypt