205: Percy Newberry
Egyptologist
Born: 23 April 1869, Islington, London, England, United Kingdom
Died: 7 August, 1949, Godalming, England, United Kingdom
Percy studied botany and archaeology at King’s College, London. He spent many years with the Egypt Exploration Fund (later the Egypt Exploration Society), rising through the ranks all the way to Vice President.
Percy Newberry was a renowned Egyptologist in his own time and in the decades after his death. One of his explorations he partook in saw him working alongside WF Petrie, another famed Egyptologist. Percy’s work in Egypt saw him excavating from the late 1890s through the 1930s. He also taught at several universities in England and Egypt both.
One of the things Percy was most known for, was his collection of ancient textiles he was able to amass. The samples of ancient textile work ranged in date from the 10th to the 19th centuries and he had around 2,000 pieces in all. Some of the pieces came from India originally, and others were Islamic texts written in Egypt. The textiles are a unique indicator into Percy’s life and work; showcasing he was interested in not just the Pharaonic period of Egypt, but also the later periods as well. Other pieces that Percy collected were from other geographical areas from all over the world—some as far afield as Central Asia, the Middle East, various Greek Islands, and other parts of North Africa.
After his death, his wife Essie oversaw his estate being divided up and donated to various institutes in England to continue to spread the knowledge of what he had excavated during his lifetime. Essie was his second wife; he divorced the first after eleven years of marriage. Percy had no children with either wife.
Badges Earned:
Located In My Personal Library:
King Tutankhamun: The Treasures of the Tomb by Zahi Hawass
Sources:
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG118809
https://egyptartefacts.griffith.ox.ac.uk/people/percy-e-newberry
https://archivesearch.lib.cam.ac.uk/agents/people/13262
https://jameelcentre.ashmolean.org/collection/6/1272
https://archive.griffith.ox.ac.uk/index.php/newberry-percy-edward