These volume, which comprise the first two parts of Topographical
Bibliography VIII, Objects of Provenance Not Known, present
accessible references for unprovenanced statues dating from the
beginning of the Dynastic Period to the end of the Roman Period. The
indices to these two parts have been assembled in a separate fascicle.
The coverage includes monuments in museums and private collections, as
well as those which have surfaced in sales and auctions only to
disappear from sight once again.
The first seven volumes of the
Topographical Bibliography list ancient Egyptian monuments still
in situ, those found in controlled excavations, ot those for
which the original location can be established with certainty. There
are, however, enormous numbers of objects of unknown provenance,
including some of the greatest importance. Systematic records of
excavations in Egypt began in the 1860s, but digging for monuments had
been going on for at least half a century before that. Volume VIII
complements Volumes I-VII by providing access to this unprovenanced
material. Parts 1-2 cover statues of all periods. Part 3 covers stelae
of the Early Dynastic Period to the end of Dynasty XVII, and Part IV
stelae from Dynasty XVIII to the end of the Roman Period.