Argead & Ptolemaic Dynasties (Egypt)
(332 BC to 30 BC)
What happened?
The Argead Dynasty was an ancient Macedonian royal house. They were the founders of the dynasty of the kingdom of Macedon from about 700 to 310 BC. Their origins are traced to Argos of Peloponnese in Southern Greece. The most celebrated rulers of Macedonia and all Upper Macedonian states were Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great, who expanded Macedonia throughout the Achaemenid Empire, Egypt, and India. King Caranus is the mythical founder of the Argead dynasty.
The word Argead is derived from the Greek ‘argeios,’ meaning “from Argos.” It is first attested in Homer, where it was used as a collective designation for the Greeks. They claimed descent from the Temenus, the great-great-grandson of Heracles. The death of the king almost always triggered dynastic disputes and often war of succession between members of the family.
The Ptolemaic dynasty was a Macedonian Greek royal dynasty which ruled the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Ancient Egypt during the Hellenistic Period. It was the last dynasty of Ancient Egypt. The general Ptolemy, half-brother of Alexander the Great, was appointed satrap of Egypt after the death of Alexander in 323. In 305 BC, Ptolemy declared himself Pharaoh Ptolemy I. The Egyptians accepted the Ptolemies as the successors of the pharaohs of independent Egypt. His family rules Egypt until the Roman conquest of 30 BC.
All male rulers took the name Ptolemy, while queens were all called Cleopatra, Arsinoe or Berenice. The most famous queen of the line was Cleopatra VII, known for her role in the Roman political battles between Julius Caesar and Pompey. Her apparent suicide at the conquest of Rome marked the end of the Ptolemaic rule in Egypt.
Painted. Found: Alexandria, Egypt (JN0698-1)
Painted. Found: Alexandria, Egypt (JN0698-2)
Egyptian Cartonnage
± 400 BC to ± 1 BC
Cartonnage is material used in Ancient Egypt to make funerary masks from the First Intermediate Period to Roman times. It was made of linen or papyrus covered with plaster. Some mummy portraits are painted on cardboard panels. The word cartonnage is a word of French origin. The technique is like papier-mâché. Moistened pieces of linen or papyrus are glued together with plaster or resin to make mummy coffins and masks. It was easy to mold to the shape of the body. After the material had dried, it could be painted or gilded. Geometric shapes, inscriptions and gods can be applied for decoration.
Making a complete mummy coffin from cardboard was a time consuming and expensive process. During the Ptolemaic period, the method was changed to include four to six separate pieces of cardboard. The mummy-shaped shell was no longer encased in one piece. The individual layers were attached to the outside of mummy wrappers. Because of this, they were mass-produced. The individual pieces consisted of a mask covering the head and shoulders, a chest piece, an apron for the legs and a foot wrap. Sometimes two extra pieces were added to cover the rib cage and stomach.
Over time, the materials used to produce cartonnage changed. It was common to use plastered linen during the Middle Kingdom. During the Third Intermediate Kingdom, the Egyptians used linen and stucco. The Ptolemaic period, like our copies, consists of ancient papyrus scrolls. The reuse of papyrus as waste was a widespread practice during that time. Many discarded government documents and archives were used. During the Roman period, the use of linen was again preferred.
It is obvious that the preparation of cartonnage saved sections of papyrus. It is an important source of well-preserved manuscript sections. The question is whether it is worth destroying a beautifully decorated cardboard or mummy mask to restore an ancient manuscript of unknown value to science? All methods destroy the decorative stucco layer of the cardboard. New and less destructive methods are being explored, in the hope of preserving the archaeological artwork.
Reconstructing a manuscript presents many challenges and problems. Some pieces consist of several and often very fragmentary pieces. A large papyrus roll was broken and reused for several mummies. Translating the texts of recovered manuscripts is not easy. The ink may be water soluble. The texts are faded and difficult to read. Overlapping texts may have left a mirror image. To better explain the problem of reconstruction, try restoring a newspaper page after it was used in papier-mâché.