volume 2 - Robert Bedrosian's Armenian History Workshop

The " Finds " at TUnah al-Jahal. 339
tombs containing a great number of blue glazed faience
figures of gods, bowls, drinking cups of remarkable
beauty, and much fine funerary furniture. In the late
autumn I was instructed to prepare to go to Egypt
early in 1895. Before I left England Lady Meux, of
Theobalds Park, informed the Principal Librarian that
she wished to enlarge her collection of Egyptian antiquities,
and asked him to obtain the permission of the
Trustees for me to spend on her behalf £1,000 in purchasing
objects which would not be required by the
British Museum. The Trustees gave me permission
to do this, and I was instructed to bring to the British
Museum all the objects which I might buy for her, so
that the Principal Librarian might examine this collection
before it was despatched to Theobalds Park, and
satisfy himself that it did not contain any object which
ought to be kept at the Museum\
When I arrived in Egjrpt in January, 1895, I found
every dealer in possession of a good supply of antiquities
of all kinds. I saw, too, with great satisfaction and
relief that the relations between the Director of the
Service of Antiquities and the native dealers throughout
the country had greatly improved. This was due
largely to the fact that de Morgan was reviving Maspero's
policy of dealing with the natives between 1883 and
1887. The information which I received on landing
was even better than I expected, and I therefore hurried
up to Mallawi al-'Arish, and spent a few days there in
seeing and hearing what had been done in the neighbourhood.
The natives had made a splendid " find
of blue glazed faience and funerary furniture at Tunah
al-Jabal, and I secured a good selection from the best
vases, figures of gods, etc., for the Trustees, and a considerable
number of the less fine objects for Lady Meux.
I also had the opportunity of making a selection from
• The objects I bought for Lady Meux arrived at the British
Museum in May, 1895, and were duly examined by the Principal
Librarian, who sanctioned their despatch to Theobalds Park. They
supplied the material for the second edition of the Catalogue of the
Lady Meux Collection, which was published in 1896.