Napoleon and the Scientific Expedition to Egypt

An exhibition of the Description de l’Egypte (1809-1828) and other rare books documenting the French Expedition to Egypt.

The Pyramids at Giza

View of the Giza Pyramids and Great Sphinx. Image source: Napoleon I, (Edme-François) Jomard, and Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Fourier. Description de l’Egypte: ou, Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Egypte pendant l’expédition de l’armee Française. Antiquités planches, vol. 5, A Paris: De L’Imprimerie impériale, 1809-1828, pl. 7.

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The French engineers carefully mapped the layout of the Giza complex. The Great, or “Grande” Pyramid is not only the largest but also the closest to Cairo. The Second and Third Pyramids are each successively more distant. The Great Sphinx was half buried in the sand and is located in the causeway that leads to the Second Pyramid. Image source: Napoleon I, (Edme-François) Jomard, and Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Fourier. Description de l’Egypte: ou, Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Egypte pendant l’expédition de l’armee Française. Antiquités planches, vol. 5, A Paris: De L’Imprimerie impériale, 1809-1828, pl. 6.

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