Drawings : Drawings of Objects from Chamber Tombs

Drawings

<p style='text-align: justify;'>This group of drawings were commissioned from the draughtsmen and archaeological illustrators Piet de Jong and Emile Gilléron fils, and the classical archaeologist John Percival Droop, during the excavation seasons of 1920-1923. Created in opaque watercolours (gouache) and ink and pencil line drawings, they were first published in 1932 in <i>Chamber Tombs at Mycenae</i> (Society of Antiquaries: <i>Archaeologia</i> 82), as the thirteenth and concluding instalment of the definitive report of the 1920-1923 excavations. A.J.B. Wace expressed his appreciation in the forward of that book to, ‘Miss M.B. Bright of Washington, who has borne the entire cost of the plates and text-blocks. Her generous support alone has made it possible to issue this final section in suitable form’ (p. 1). Colour illustrations in particular were expensive to reproduce but essential to convey the richness and artistry of excavated artefacts. Line drawings often enable the human eye to discern details more readily than a photograph of the actual object, for example the miniature scenes engraved on seal stones. Wace was committed to reproducing the full suite of drawings, so important are they to a complete understanding of the excavation’s findings, and had therefore delayed publication until he could source funds to underwrite the costs.</p>