Chronique d'Egypte number 4 off July 1927
Cover off JEAN CAPART. LE CHRONIQUEUR DE L’ÉGYPTE. from Jean-Michel Bruffaerts
Jean Capart is rightly considered the father of Belgian Egyptology as a scientific and historical discipline. After a long career of almost 50 years in the service of Egyptology, he left an extraordinary archival legacy.
At the centre of it all is the abundant correspondence of Jean Capart and his collaborators and successors. All the big names in 20th-century world Egyptology are there, not to mention many other prominent figures from the Belgian and foreign political, scientific and artistic worlds. In all: thousands of letters (incoming and outgoing) exchanged between the leaders of the association and their regular or occasional correspondents, famous or anonymous.
In addition to this documentary bonanza, there are the manuscripts and proofs of Jean Capart’s books, the texts of his articles and lectures, as well as his notebooks and excavation reports. But also plans, posters, photographs, drawings, caricatures, etc. Added to this are the archives of the International Association of Papyrologists, of which the Foundation is the custodian. We are therefore in the presence of an irreplaceable testimony to the history of Egyptology, papyrology and the museum world, a true digest of Belgian, European and world intellectual history.
In 2016, the historian Jean Michel Bruffaerts drew the attention of Dominique and Gilles Capart to the importance of preserving this heritage and making it available to historians and the general public. The Jean Capart Fund, hosted by the King Baudouin Foundation, was created on 5 May 2016. After 9 years of activity, its objectives have been achieved and even exceeded:
These exceptional results have been obtained thanks to the support of the Baillet Latour Fund and other generous donors, the collaboration of the Committee of Experts and participation in the EOS ‘Pyramids and Progress’ inter-university research project funded by the F.R.S.-FNRS and the FWO. We would like to take this opportunity to thank them.
In addition to being a great scientist, Jean Capart was also a great populariser and was keen to share his love for ancient Egyptian civilisation as widely as possible. To this end, and to support research, he had created the Queen Elisabeth Egyptological Foundation in 1923, with the support of the Foundation, on his return from the opening of Tutankhamun’s burial chamber. The Foundation, since renamed the Queen Elisabeth Egyptological Association (QEEA), recently celebrated its 100th anniversary on 1 December 2024. It continues to support research, particularly through the publication of the Chronique d’Égypte, internationally recognised for its scientific quality.
Unfortunately, the results of the research of Belgian Egyptologists are little known to the general public. Due to a lack of resources, its mission to popularise the subject was scaled back after the death of Jean Capart. The Management Committee of the Jean Capart Fund has decided to support a new ambitious programme of the AERE * EGKE for the popularisation of the civilisation of ancient Egypt aimed at a wide audience and, in particular, of the contribution of Belgian Egyptologists. The Fund’s resources will soon be liquidated in favour of the AERE – EGKE and its donor members will be invited to join the AERE – EGKE as members or donors. We thank them in advance.
Chronique d'Egypte number 4 off July 1927
Cover off JEAN CAPART. LE CHRONIQUEUR DE L’ÉGYPTE. from Jean-Michel Bruffaerts