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CHAMPOLLION (Jean-François dit Le jeune)
Paris, Treuttel-Wür…
See original version (French)
43
-
CHAMPOLLION (Jean-François dit Le jeune)
Paris, Treuttel-Wür…
See original version (French)
Estimate €6,000 - €8,000
Voluntary lot
Description
CHAMPOLLION (Jean-François dit Le jeune)
Paris, Treuttel-Würtz, 1824.
Précis du système hiéroglyphique égyptien ou recherches sur les éléments premiers de cette écriture sacrée, sur leurs diverses combinaisons et sur les rapports de ce système avec les autres méthodes graphiques égyptiennes.
2 volumes in-8 (24,2 × 16 cm) half red long-grained morocco, coral paper boards with imitation long-grain pattern, gilt fillet on boards, entirely untrimmed, (contemporary binding).
First edition of this scientific work, the foundation of Egyptology. Decorated with 16 hors-texte plates in the first volume, and 32 additional plates in a second volume, all lithographed by Charles Motte.
Published two years after the Lettre à M. Dacier in which Champollion revealed his discovery of the phonetic values of hieroglyphic writing, the Précis du système hiéroglyphique is a direct continuation of this publication and represents the culmination of ten years of research. In this famous publication, Champollion formulated a complete system for deciphering hieroglyphics, putting an end to the symbolist system inherited from Kirchner, by means of comparisons of hieroglyphic, hieratic and demotic inscriptions.
A copy of exceptional provenance.
It was a gift from Champollion to the future king Louis-Philippe I: "À son altesse sérénissime Monseigneur le Duc d'Orléans, hommage respectueux de l'auteur" (autograph dispatch). The copy was subsequently kept in the King's library in Neuilly.
In 1818, when Louis Phillipe was Duke of Orléans, he acquired the Château de Neuilly, where he built up a rich library of works of literature, history and travel, as well as scientific literature.
Provenance
- Stamp of the King's library in Neuilly - Bonnefons de Lavalle sale, Libraries of the late King Louis-Philippe, 17 December 1797, lot 2837.
- Sale by M. Martin, Bibliothèque de Salvaing Boissieu, 13 to 18 December 1897, lot no. 1209.
- Dry stamp of "qumran akkad sumer elan".
- Bookplate with the monogram AD inserted in a coat of arms with a dolphin (unidentified).
Slight stains on covers, small paper loss on one cover, foxing. Title page of text volume browned.
Bibliography
Farout, "De la Renaissance à la Restauration: quelques étapes du déchiffrement des hiéroglyphes", Les Cahiers de l'École du Louvre (Online), 9|2016. Mathieu, "Lettre à Monsieur Dacier: le déchiffrement de l'égyptien par Champollion et la naissance de la grammaire égyptienne", paper presented at the colloquium Bicentenaire Champollion, l'Égypte et Montpellier, Montptellier, 12 May 2022.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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