Research
My AHRC-funded PhD dissertation at the University of Liverpool (2006-10) examined the conceptualisation of statues of non-royal individuals at the important temple complex of Karnak during the Late Period, between 750 and 30 BCE. Assessing both sculptural forms and their inscribed hieroglyphic texts concerning their role, the study explored how statuary was expected to operate within functioning sacred spaces. Resulting research has further explored statuescapes and the Pharaonic monumental environment more generally, aiming to address both ancient behaviour in relation to sculpted forms and to critically examine modern assumptions regarding them. Working in the museum sector for 15 years has provided critical insights into audience expectations and viewer responses, the accessibility of monuments and the relationships between representations of people and other entities.
While at Manchester Museum, I have actively researched and disseminated knowledge about the collection, often in collaboration with colleagues. Resulting studies have included a number of previously unpublished elite monuments, votive mummified animals and their containers, and funerary material of the Graeco-Roman material, of which Manchester has significant holdings. Based on the latter, between 2019 and 2024 I curated Manchester Museum’s first major international touring exhibition, Golden Mummies of Egypt, accompanied by a book of the same title. A key premise was to de-centre the usual revelatory museum narrative and instead focus on the divine nature of the deceased. Discussion based on an alternative conceptualisation – of mummification as transformation – has already appeared within a book for children (Totally Chaotic History. Ancient Egypt Gets Unruly! co-authored with Greg Jenner) and a popular book for adults, Brief Histories: Ancient Egypt.
Developing from my interest in Pharaonic non-royal sculpture, and prompted by the identification of a previously unknown fragmentary statue of his at Manchester, I am currently completing a detailed study of the High Steward Senenmut, a preeminent member of the court of the female Pharaoh Hatshepsut (c. 1473-58 BCE) and prominent statue-innovator.
Combining previous work on Pharaonic statue bodies and on responses to displays of Graeco-Roman funerary masks, my main research currently focuses on interpretations of the Ancient Egyptian face. A part-time research secondment, made possible with support from Creative Manchester at the University of Manchester, will result in a monograph with Manchester University Press.
Research Interest 1
Research interests centre on elite monumental expression, particularly during the First Millennium BC, and especially in the functions of statues in ancient Egyptian society. Other interests include the role of museums in informing popular perceptions of Pharaonic Egypt, and the sacred landscape of the important site of Saqqara.