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Bolton Museum is to purchase a piece of Ancient Egyptian history to become a permanent part of its internationally acclaimed collection. The Egyptian Sandstone statue, measuring 30cm high dates back to the Middle Kingdom 2046-1793 BC will be bought directly from its private owner for £12,500 through a grant. The piece, which has the words 'an offering which the king gives' inscribed on the front of it, has been on loan to the museum for the past eight years.
The owner who now wishes to sell the statue and has offered a direct sale rather than putting it out to the open market, Bolton Museum has agreed a direct purchase price of £12,500. Annie Barlow Executive Cabinet Member for Culture, Cllr Nadeem Ayub said: “If I didn't make the decision to purchase the statue it would have gone to the open market, and it could potentially leave the UK “It had been on loan for the museum for a little while so I thought it would be a good purchase at a good value. “It adds to Greater Manchester culture especially after we won the Greater Manchester town of culture award last year.
” Cllr Ayub also explained the importance of this statue for tourism and Bolton’s future generations. He said: “ Bolton Museum is a free museum so anyone can go and visit from Bolton and beyond so adding this to the collection is key to attract people, “We got accustomed to having the statue and now it's ours for good and future generations can have a look at it.” Cllr Ayub said: “This is something that will also benefit the economy as people will come and visit the museum and then benefit from the other establishments in town like cafes and restaurants.
“Culture and regeneration go hand in hand.” READ MORE: Bolton Museum: A first look at the new Egyptian collection Modern medicine unwraps ancient mysteries of Bolton's 2,000-year-old child mummy Items from Bolton Museum to appear in Tutankhamun exhibition Countess Carnarvon to travel from the real Downtown Abbey to speak about Tutankhamun It is believed to have been owned by Annie Barlow, a private collector from Egerton Bolton and Local Secretary of the Egypt Exploration Society. It was given as a gift to the ancestors of the current owner.
The Bradshaw Gass Trust has a dedicated acquisitions fund which is ringfenced to Bolton Museum to purchase artwork and is funding the grant. Bolton’s Egypt collection is the largest of its kind in a local authority museum in the UK and is where the famous “Unknown Man” mummy is displayed. The newly acquired statue entitled will be displayed alongside the story of James and Annie Barlow as it was a property of the Barlow family.
Annie interest in Ancient Egypt was sparked as she visited sited in the Nile Delta being excavated. Annie began to support the Egypt Exploration Society (EES), a group set up to promote interest in the monuments of Egypt. She was soon appointed as “Local Secretary” for Bolton, responsible for raising funds for it and Bolton benefited from Annie’s support for the EES.
Annie asked for her findings to be given to the Chadwick Museum, the forerunner of the Bolton Museum, it is fitting for her statue to be purchased by the museum to add to the already existing collection. Bolton’s collection of ancient Egyptian material is arguably one of the most important in a British local authority museum , say town hall chiefs, and numbers around 12,000 objects from over 65 sites in Egypt. Unlike comparable collections in the UK, the majority of the objects are excavated and thus retain full provenance information.
This makes the collection of particular interest to researchers and gives scope for enhanced interpretation for the public. Bolton Council say the collection is recognised as being of international significance. The statue has been authenticated by auction houses in Bonhams, Sotheby’s Christies and Charles Ede.
A council briefing stated: "We have taken informal advice from colleagues Dr Campbell Price (Curator of Egypt and Sudan, Manchester Museum) and Tom Hardwick (Curator of Egyptology, Houston Museum) who have told us that in their opinion the statue is not a fake." In 2012 The Bolton Museum Collection toured the Far East and in 2014 modern medicine helped unwrap ancient mysteries of Bolton's 2,000-year-old child mummy in Florida. Items from Bolton Museum were displayed at an exhibition in 2022 at a Tutankhamun exhibition.
Next month the mystery, the secrets and the curse surrounding the Egyptian boy king, Tutankhamun, will be discussed in a special talk by Countess Carnarvon, whose family took part in the world’s most famous archaeological discovery. Countess Fiona Carnarvon’s talk, titled ‘The Earl and the Pharaoh – From the Real Downton Abbey to the Discovery of Tutankhamun’ will take place on Friday, March 7, from 10.30am.
Tickets are available on Eventbrite..
