Faked antikas and 'modern antiques': The production and marketing of tourist art in the Theban Necropolis

Abstract

Located in the Theban Necropolis of the Luxor west bank, the village of al-Qurna was central in the large-scale supply of ancient Egyptian antiquities to private and institutional collectors during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. As a result, the quantity of antiquities being offered for sale to individual travellers diminished steadily. The continuing high demand for Egyptian artefacts under the influence of ever-expanding international tourism and the increasing impact of twentieth-century antiquities legislation gave rise to a new industry at al-Qurna: the production of fakes to be sold as genuine antiques and the production of Egyptian artefacts for sale to international visitors. This article explores the close connections between the archaeological landscape of the Theban Necropolis, international tourism, and the artisanal production and marketing of artefacts of ancient Egyptian design by local craftsmen.