ABSTRACT
The relevance of studying representations of ancient Egypt for understanding the history of Egyptology cannot be overemphasized. Indeed, the study of any discipline’s history cannot be divorced from the ways in which the subject has been presented and received outside the scholarly realm. Egyptology, perhaps more than many other disciplines, is concerned with subjects that have attracted a great deal of public attention and have generated a variety of forms of public engagement. For this reason alone, it is important that we consider the extent to which the more creative responses to ancient Egypt may have affected both the emergence of the discipline and subsequent developments in Egyptology. Further justification for investigating the representation of ancient Egypt throughout the centuries stems from the fact that cultural historians and specialists in reception have demonstrated that the portrayal of academic subjects in the public domain influences how these fields have been defined. Major studies on the reception of ancient cultures have shown the extent to which particular civilizations have come to be known through their representation outside academic discourse (e.g., Bohrer 2003; Curran 2005; Moser 2006, 2012a and b; Nichols 2014; Seymour 2013).
