Lectures
Egyptian Hieroglyphs and the issue of figurativity in the most ancient scripts – Pascal Vernus
info@museitorino.it
011 44 06 903
From Monday to Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
On Thursday 21st March 2024, at 6 pm, in collaboration with ACME (Amici e Collaboratori del Museo Egizio) we will host the lecture held by Pascal Vernus.
The most striking feature of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs is the fact that they are figural depictions that can be more or less identified, even by someone entirely alien to the Egyptian civilization. To designate this feature, the commonly used term «iconicity» appears too loose and the term «figurativity», derived from Art History (cf. «arts figuratifs») should be preferred. Figurativity is not restricted to Ancient Egyptian script. It was also originally involved in the most ancient scripts from China, from the Valley of Hindus, from Elam, from Mesopotamia, from the Hittite empire, from Creta, and from Meso-america. Now, the original figurativity in the shape and appearance of a script sign is subject to evolution and can fade out over time. A nice illustration is provided by our latin alphabetic script. Many letters harken back to Egyptian hieroglyphs through the Proto-Sinaitic, Phoenican and Hebrew alphabets. For instance, the letter a originates in a fully figurative Egyptian hieroglyph depicting the head of an ox!
Pascal Vernus, «agrégé de lettres classiques», «Docteur d'État» from the Sorbonne, has been a scientific member of the Institut Français d'Archéologie du Caire (1973-1976). He has been appointed Professeur («Directeur d'études») à l'École Pratique des Hautes Études, IVe Section, at the Chair «Égyptien» in 1976, until his retirement to become «Professeur émérite». He has given teachings at the Ain Shams University in Cairo, at the Yale University (USA), at the Nova Universitad (Lisbonne), at the Autonoma Universitad (Barcelone). He has been a scientific member of the Spanish Archeological Expedition at Heracleopolis. He has published about two hundred contributions pertaining to the history, the religion, the literature, the language and the writing of the ancient Egyptians. Some of his publications: Dictionnaire des Pharaons ; Affaires et scandales sous les Ramsès ; Chants d’amour de l’Égypte antique ; Sagesses de l’Égypte pharaonique ; Dictionnaire amoureux de l'Égypte pharaonique ; Le bestiaire des pharaons (en collaboration avec J. Yoyotte).
The event will be held in English, admission is free with a reservation on Eventbrite. Click HERE to book your place.
The lecture will be broadcast via streaming on the Museum's Facebook page and Youtube channel
The most striking feature of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs is the fact that they are figural depictions that can be more or less identified, even by someone entirely alien to the Egyptian civilization. To designate this feature, the commonly used term «iconicity» appears too loose and the term «figurativity», derived from Art History (cf. «arts figuratifs») should be preferred. Figurativity is not restricted to Ancient Egyptian script. It was also originally involved in the most ancient scripts from China, from the Valley of Hindus, from Elam, from Mesopotamia, from the Hittite empire, from Creta, and from Meso-america. Now, the original figurativity in the shape and appearance of a script sign is subject to evolution and can fade out over time. A nice illustration is provided by our latin alphabetic script. Many letters harken back to Egyptian hieroglyphs through the Proto-Sinaitic, Phoenican and Hebrew alphabets. For instance, the letter a originates in a fully figurative Egyptian hieroglyph depicting the head of an ox!
Pascal Vernus, «agrégé de lettres classiques», «Docteur d'État» from the Sorbonne, has been a scientific member of the Institut Français d'Archéologie du Caire (1973-1976). He has been appointed Professeur («Directeur d'études») à l'École Pratique des Hautes Études, IVe Section, at the Chair «Égyptien» in 1976, until his retirement to become «Professeur émérite». He has given teachings at the Ain Shams University in Cairo, at the Yale University (USA), at the Nova Universitad (Lisbonne), at the Autonoma Universitad (Barcelone). He has been a scientific member of the Spanish Archeological Expedition at Heracleopolis. He has published about two hundred contributions pertaining to the history, the religion, the literature, the language and the writing of the ancient Egyptians. Some of his publications: Dictionnaire des Pharaons ; Affaires et scandales sous les Ramsès ; Chants d’amour de l’Égypte antique ; Sagesses de l’Égypte pharaonique ; Dictionnaire amoureux de l'Égypte pharaonique ; Le bestiaire des pharaons (en collaboration avec J. Yoyotte).
The event will be held in English, admission is free with a reservation on Eventbrite. Click HERE to book your place.
The lecture will be broadcast via streaming on the Museum's Facebook page and Youtube channel
info@museitorino.it
011 44 06 903
From Monday to Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
