The letter, implausible, could have been scribbled by an idle student.
“Thanks to Grand Amon-Ra, my dear friend”,
begins this missive written on December 28, 1829, from the harbor of Toulon.
"I have to offer you a party of Egyptian debauchery"
, continues the letter writer further.
The astonishing offer, submitted in precise black ink, is not - contrary to appearances - an invitation to take part in an oriental bacchanalia.
As the preceding lines suggest, it rather opened the way to a joyful examination of wallets swollen with hieroglyphic drawings and notes brought from the banks of the Nile.
The author of this absurd correspondent?
Jean-Francois Champollion (1790-1832).
Its recipient?
François Artaud (1767-1838), curator and first director of the Museum of Fine Arts in Lyon.
Read alsoThe painters of Pompeii revealed in Bologna
Contrary to the myriad of exhibitions devoted this year to the father of Egyptology, the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon invites you to…
This article is for subscribers only.
You have 82% left to discover.
Cultivating your freedom is cultivating your curiosity.
Keep reading your article for €0.99 for the first month
I ENJOY IT
Already subscribed?
Login