Diplomat by Nature, Explorer by Choice

Bernardino Drovetti

Bernardino Drovetti is best known as Napoleon’s Proconsul in Egypt. He should not be seen in Napoleon’s shadow; however, as there is much more to the man than that. Drovetti was a traveler in Egypt and was directly involved in many endeavors which have contributed to the historical body of knowledge we have in regard to Egypt today. He was a public servant, a soldier, a traveler, an excavator and a collector as well as a skilled diplomat. As a diplomat Drovetti proved to be a well-meaning man with strong principles and he made vast contributions to the well-being of Egypt in the fields of education, health, agriculture, industry, and commerce, as well as significantly contributing to the Egyptian governance. He was highly respected in politics, even by his country’s opponents. As an explorer and excavator he was an outspoken, yet righteous rival. When challenged in regard to ownership of antiquities, he sometimes conceded the items though his agents were frequently known for creating barriers for other explorers as well as being suspected of destroying their discoveries, and on one instance, even engaged in a physical assault.

Worldwide 1776 was an event filled year. In 1776 America declared its independence from Britain; settlers from all over the world migrated to the new United States; Captain James Cook of Britain began his third exploration in Oceania which took him to New Zealand, Tonga, Tahiti and Hawaii; Mozart composed and performed new works in the field of music; the Spanish government attempted to shift commerce away from Europe; a movement to abolish slavery failed in the British Parliament; Adam Smith wrote the infamous Wealth of Nations; small pox was an epidemic and the vaccination for it was invented; the world renowned Teatro alla Scala opera house was founded; the Continental Gondola Boston was built; construction of the Citadel in Egypt began; and many great men were born.

Family, Education and Home
Among the great men birthed in 1776 was Bernardino Michele Maria Drovetti, born to Giorgio Francesco Drovetti and Anna Vittoria Vacca on January 4th in Barbania, Italy. He was the second son of the couple with an older brother Giuseppe, a lawyer, and a younger brother Luigi, a priest. There was also a sister; however, not much is known about her, not even her name. Drovetti perhaps happened into politics by fate due to the fact that his father was a lawyer and his mother’s father was a senator (Senator Francesco Vacca). Bernardino Drovetti was an educated man. He attended the Collegio delle Provincie in Italy and studied law at Torino University.

At the time of Drovetti’s birth, his home was part of the Kingdom of Sardinia. The Kingdom of Sardinia, of Iberian origin, first came into existence when Jaume II of Aragon, after a brief military campaign, established an alliance with the kings of Arborea in the early 1300s and proceeded to occupy the Pisa territories of Cagliari and Gallura and the city of Sassari which became the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica. The kingdom remained Iberian for about four-hundred years until after the Spanish War of Succession when rule passed to Austrians. In 1717 the land was reoccupied by Spain and shortly thereafter, as a result of the Treaty of London, became Italian. In 1796; however, Napoleon Bonaparte, the ruler of France, conquered the Kingdom along with Northern Italy placing it under French rule. The kingdom was restored and enlarged in 1814 and became a buffer state against France; however, Piedmont, the section of the kingdom in which Drovetti was raised, was annexed becoming a department of France and all Piedmontese, Drovetti included, became French citizens.

Public Service
Drovetti was a renowned soldier and military officer, a judge and a diplomat. After graduating from law school, he joined the military originally serving as a Piedmontese soldier, and later in the Napoleonic Army where he was rapidly promoted through the ranks becoming a commissioned officer. Prior to the annexation of Piedmont into France, Drovetti was involved in affairs of the Provisional Government. Drovetti was appointed as an officer in the Ministry of War in Piedmont, and then as the Squadron Leader of the First Piedmontese Hussars which was later incorporated into the French army. Early in 1801, the young Drovetti was named Minister of War in Piedmont and Chief of Staff in the Piedmontese Division of the French army in Italy. Later the same year, he was appointed as a judge in Torino where he served until 1803 at which time Napoleon, the First Consul, made Drovetti a Consul – namely, Commissioner of Foreign Relations – and sent him to Egypt.

Napoleon’s Occupation of Egypt
Napoleon Bonaparte is well-known as one of the greatest military commanders in history. He’s known for his conquests throughout Europe from which he eventually rose to the position of Emperor of France. He was a conqueror, a liberator, and an advocate of literature, arts, science and education. For reasons unknown, Napoleon was fixated on conquering Egypt. There is speculation that he wanted to conquer Egypt to deter the British and to disrupt their trade with India, but by his own account, Napoleon’s mission was perhaps nothing more than a quest for glory.

Whatever his motivation, in 1798 Napoleon, then a General, set off for Egypt with a slew of soldiers and French scholars (also known as savants). From a military perspective the undertaking was disastrous. Less than a month after the arrival of Napoleon’s military, his dreams of ruling Egypt were crushed by the British in the Battle of the Nile, also referred to as the Battle of Aboukir Bay. Napoleon nearly lost his entire fleet of ships which were sunk, burned or captured; and at least 1,700 lives with more than double that number captured. British casualties were minimal, just over 200, and the British gained naval superiority. Though Napoleon’s naval fleet was destroyed, he did not give up on occupying and exploring Egypt, he simply took to the land rather than the water. Leaving his army in Egypt, Napoleon returned to France and became First Consul – the dictatorial and military leader France. Napoleon’s quest for knowledge about and power in Egypt continued and the French effectively occupied Egypt for three years with the French troops evacuating Egypt in 1801. The three years of exploration and documentation of Egyptian excavations proved fruitful with a major find, the Rosetta Stone, which was later used by Champollion in the interpretation of Ancient Egyptian writing – hieroglyphs. From the work of the savants that accompanied Napoleon’s first Egyptian campaign the Descriptions de L’Egypte was published which was a full-fledged scientific account of Egypt that laid the foundation for Egyptology. Napoleon’s expeditions were before Drovetti’s arrival in Egypt.

Drovetti’s Appointment to Egypt and the Struggle for Power
In 1802 Napoleon named Drovetti Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Relations in Egypt. Early in 1803 Napoleon appointed Matthieu de Lesseps Deputy-Commissioner of Commercial Relations, making him Drovetti’s superior. Drovetti and Lesseps were sent to Egypt as diplomats for France and were instructed to observe the situation there. De Lesseps proved to be rather ineffective in comparison to Drovetti and he left Egypt while Drovetti stayed manning his post.

The Mamelukes were originally Turkish slaves who were converted to Islam and rose to power in Egypt resulting in the founding of the Bahri Dynasty in 1250. Though defeated by the Ottoman Empire in 1517, the Mameluke governors retained power until they were conquered by Napoleon at the Battle of the Pyramids in 1798. After Napoleon evacuated, the Ottomans and the Mamelukes struggled against one another for power. Between the time the French evacuated Egypt in 1801 and the time that Napoleon decided to send diplomatic representatives into Egypt again, the Ottoman Empire, the Turks, had regained power and the Mamelukes had gained favor with England even though the English army had evacuated Egypt as well. The civil war between the Mamelukes and Turks continued and the Albanians also attempted to gain power in Egypt. Ali Pasha was the Viceroy of Egypt appointed by the Ottoman Sultan. Drovetti evidently didn’t care much for him but diplomatically worked with him to ensure that French interests were protected. Mahemet Ali, former leader of the Albanian militia, became Pasha of Cairo in 1805 and Drovetti instantly began to influence him in ways that would promote French interests. Drovetti was instructed by Napoleon that as a commercial agent for France he was not to become involved in political matters in a diplomatic capacity. Even so, Drovetti was instrumental in influencing Mahemet Ali to keep the Mamelukes out of the government and in keeping him from entering into agreements with the English and others that would be threatening to France’s interests. In 1815 Drovetti passed his post to his replacement. He remained in Egypt engaging in politics, archaeology and exploration. After a hiatus from the public arena (although Drovetti was still often consulted in regard to political and diplomatic matters) Drovetti was reappointed as Consul-General for France in Egypt in 1821 and served in that capacity until 1829. His interest in antiquities; however, did not die. He still had agents working for him to explore and excavate in Egypt, and to procure antiquities.

Drovetti’s Relationship to Other Travelers
During his service to France in Egypt, Drovetti naturally developed an interest in antiquities and the historical wonders Egypt was filled with and began stockpiling his own collections. As a traveler and collector the renowned Giovanni Battista Belzoni was one of Drovetti’s greatest rivals, as was Henry Salt; however, Salt and Drovetti developed somewhat of a respectful relationship between them though Salt never quite trusted Drovetti. Perhaps the reason for the great competition between Drovetti and Belzoni stemmed from evident rivalry between French and British agents in negotiations over antiquities. Salt was a British agent, Drovetti a French agent and Belzoni was employed by Salt.

One account of bad blood between Drovetti and Belzoni was in regard to the obelisk that was found at Philae which Belzoni was to procure for the Englishman, William John Bankes. Apparently one of Drovetti’s agents convinced people that he could read the hieroglyphic writing on the obelisk which indicated it belonged to Drovetti’s ancestors and therefore should be given to Drovetti. The obelisk did end up being extracted for Bankes and it was delivered and placed in Bankes’ garden at Kingston Lacey.

Another run-in between Drovetti and Belzoni was in the attempts to open the temple at Abu Simbel. Belzoni was on his way to open the temple, but upon his arrival found that Drovetti had gotten there first and had already made arrangements for the temple to be opened. Belzoni quickly went to work arranging his own workforce to outdo Drovetti. Efforts failed initially due to local concerns regarding the opening of the temple and lack of labor to accomplish the mission; however, eventually, Belzoni did manage to open the temple.

On another occasion, one of Belzoni’s extractions, from the Temple of Isis at Philae was destroyed and marked to indicate that it was a deliberate act which was believed to have been committed by Drovetti’s agents. The matter ended up in an unsuccessful litigation initiated by Belzoni after he was assaulted by agents of Drovetti and finally left Egypt.

Belzoni is perhaps one of the most recognized and renowned figures in Egyptology. An Italian born in 1778, Belzoni is said to have fled Italy prior to engaging in trading in Holland and then entering the theater scene. At some point in time he hooked up with a circus circuit and earned the nickname “The Great Belzoni” as he performed weightlifting and strongman acts in England. He is believed to have studied both priesthood and hydraulics. Belzoni ended up in Egypt after meeting an agent of the Egyptian ruler Mohammed Ali Pasha who informed him that the ruler was seeking technicians to help develop Egypt. Being an apparent expert in hydraulics, Belzoni was commissioned to build a hydraulic irrigation system new the Nile. Belzoni was invited to accompany William Turner to explore Egyptian tombs which started his venture into explorations and excavations in Egypt. Belzoni met Burckhart who directed him to Abu Simbel to remove the bust of Ramses II, also known as the Young Memnon statue. Henry Salt helped finance the mission which brought Belzoni and Salt into contact with one another. Belzoni is not generally well respected as an archeologist because he was quite destructive in his excavations. However, he received much acclaim for his delivery of the Ramses II statue to the British Museum as well as for discovering tombs in the Valley of Kings and entering the pyramids at Giza.

Salt was British, born in 1785. He was a skilled artist well-known for painting portraits. He first arrived in Egypt in 1802 when he was commissioned to serve as secretary and artist for the Grand Tour of Egypt. Eventually, he was appointed as British Consul General in Egypt. Like many diplomats of the time, Salt began collecting antiquities and he sponsored many excavations in Egypt. Most of his collections were sold to museums. Salt engaged in expeditions with renowned travelers such as Bankes, Ricci, and Linant de Bellafonds, and Salt was Belzoni’s employer. This group of men is credited for recording the majority of monuments along the Nile from Cairo to Sennar.

Other notable travelers in Egypt at the time that Drovetti came in contact with included Jean Jacques Rifaud, Frederic Cailliaud, Robert Richardson, Barron Sack, Alessandro Ricci, Enegildo Frediani, Carlo Vidua, Edouard Montule, Franz Christian Gau, and Linant de Bellefonds. Edme Jomard and Jean Dubois Ayme were also notorious contacts of Drovetti’s.

Rifaud and Caillaud were Drovetti’s traveling companions initially, shortly following his exit from the political arena and engagement in explorations. There is not a lot of information available about Rifaud, at least not in English. Cailliaud; however, was a French mineralogist and geologist, and relatively a rock collector. As a result of his companionship with Drovetti, he met Egypt’s ruler who eventually made him the official mineralogist for the Egyptian government and assigned him the task of finding the ancient emerald mines thought to have been operated by the Ptolemies. He was successful in the mission and was thus assigned to more treasure seeking explorations. Drovetti and Salt traveled together on more than one occasion.
Edme-François Jomard was part of the Napoleonic expedition in Egypt in which the Rosetta Stone was found. He was also a major contributor to the Description de l’Egypte that was published as a result of that expedition. Jomard consulted Drovetti to glean information on discoveries that had been made since the Napoleonic expedition to be included in the manuscript. Jean Dubois Ayme was another individual who contributed to the creation of the publication. He too consulted Drovetti who was thought to be an expert on Egypt and its antiquities.

Drovetti’s Travels
Drovetti, along with his traveling companions Rifaud and Cailliaud, set out to explore the Second Cataract and Abu Simbel in 1816. The Second Cataract is a geographical section of Lower Nubia just north of Semna. The Second Cataract is sometimes referred to as the “Belly of Stones” due to its narrow, rocky ravines. Abu Simbel is a temple in Nubia, near the Second Cataract, that is believed to have been built by the ruler Ramesses II of the 19th Dynasty in Egypt.

Drovetti inscribed his name in areas he visited including the temple at Abu Simbel, Amada, Dendur and Kalabscha. He collected feathers as well as antiquities. Drovetti’s collections are vast; however, he did not necessarily discover all that he added to his collection. In fact, he purchased many findings of others to build his personal collections, many of which were later sold or distributed to various museums. He acquired lion-head sphinxes from Salt who was excavating at Thebes, and he apparently purchased items from local Arabs as well, including two idols and a papyrus scroll.

Drovetti selected Upper Egypt as his area of concentration and with Salt and Richardson visited the tomb of Seti I in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes. The tomb had actually been discovered by Belzoni. Drovetti also traveled to Fayum and to Tanis which is in the Delta, to the Dakhla Oasis, the Sitwah Oasis, and to Abydos prior to being reappointed as Consul-General; though much of his time exploring was spent in Thebes in an area divided between himself and Salt.

Drovetti’s Legacy
Drovetti’s collections were many and are housed in a number of different European museums. The collections are far to numerous to list, but contain items such as documents and papyrus, Egyptian art, statues, granite, inscriptions, figures carved from limestone and sandstone, and bronze, wood and ivory objects, just to name a few.

For certain, Drovetti made vast contributions to Egyptology enhancing our knowledge of the ancient Egyptians. He was friend to many and enemy to others; however, overall an air of respect seemed to follow him, more so in politics and public life than in archeology where he was not always a trusted companion. It is evident that Drovetti was dedicated in his service to France, although he was born an Italian. He continually protected France’s interests in Egypt in both his public capacity and as a private citizen and explorer. Even so, he was known to sell his antiquities to the highest bidder regardless of whether or not they were French.

Drovetti, without a doubt, possessed the richest collection of Egyptian antiquities and he desired an exorbitant price for the collection. He offered it to France and the Kingdom of Sardinia, his first preferences for his collection’s resting place. With other offers on the table, Drovetti held out for a decision from France, but had placed a deadline on the waiting period. Carlo Vidua, negotiating for Piedmont, attempted to persuade Drovetti to accept a Piedmontese offer to purchase the collection. Finally, Drovetti accepted the offer. After much to do, the vast collection of Egyptian antiquities was sold to the University of Torino and the Torino Museum was founded.