8/12/2019 Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge

1/2

Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge

E.A. Wallis Budge was born in 1857 in Bodmin,Cornwall, to Mary Ann Budge, a young woman whose

father was a waiter in a Bodmin hotel. Budges father has ne!er been identified. Budge left Cornwall as a

boy, and e!entually "ame to li!e with his maternal aunt and grandmother in #ondon. $1%

Budge be"ame interested in languages before he was ten years old, but left s"hool at the age of twel!e in

18&' to wor( as a "ler( at the retail firm ofW.). *mith, whi"h sold boo(s, stationery and related +rodu"ts.

-t "ontinues to do so. -n his s+are time, he studied)ebrewand *yria"with the aid of a !olunteer tutor

named Charles *eeger. Budge be"ame interested in learning the an"ientAssyrian languagein 187/,

when he also began to s+end time in the British Museum.Budges tutor introdu"ed him to the 0ee+er of

riental Anti2uities, the +ioneer Egy+tologist*amuel Bir"h, and Bir"hs assistant, the

Assyriologist 3eorge *mith. *mith hel+ed Budge o""asionally with his Assyrian. Bir"h allowed the youth

to study "uneiformtablets in his offi"e and obtained boo(s for him from the British #ibrary of Middle

Eastern tra!el and ad!enture, su"h as *irAusten )enry #ayards Nineveh and Its Remains.

4rom 18&' to 1878, Budge s+ent his free time studying Assyrian, and during these years, often s+ent his

lun"h brea( studying at *t. auls Cathedral. 6ohn *tainer,the organist of *t. auls, noti"ed Budges

hard wor(, and met the youth. )e wanted to hel+ the wor(ing"lass boy realie his dream of be"oming a

s"holar. *tainer "onta"tedW.). *mith, a Conser!ati!e Member of arliament, and the former #iberal

rime Minister William Ewart 3ladstone, and as(ed them to hel+ his young friend. Both *mith and

3ladstone agreed to hel+ *tainer to raise money for Budge to attend Cambridge 9ni!ersity.$/%

Budge studied at Cambridge from 1878 to 188:. )is sub;e"ts in"luded *emiti" languages< )ebrew,

*yria",Ethio+i"andArabi"= he "ontinued to study Assyrian inde+endently. Budge wor(ed "losely during

these years with William Wright, a noted s"holar of *emiti" languages, among others.

$:%

Budge entered the British Museum in 188: in the re"ently renamed >e+artment of Egy+tian and Assyrian

Anti2uities. -nitially a++ointed to the Assyrian se"tion, he soon transferred to the Egy+tian se"tion. )e

studied the an"ient Egy+tian languagewith *amuel Bir"h until the latters death in 1885. Budge "ontinued

to study an"ient Egy+tian with the new 0ee+er,eter le age ?enouf,until the latters retirement in 18'1.

Between 188& and 18'1, Budge was de+uted by the British Museum to in!estigate why "uneiformtablets

from British Museum sites in-ra2, whi"h were to be guarded by lo"al agents of the Museum, were showing

u+ in the "olle"tions of #ondon anti2uities dealers. @he British Museum was +ur"hasing these "olle"tionsof what were their own tablets at inflated #ondon mar(et rates. Edward Bond, the rin"i+al #ibrarian of

the Museum, wanted Budge to find the sour"e of the lea(s and to seal it. Bond also wanted Budge to

establish ties to -ra2i anti2uities dealers in order to buy a!ailable materials at the redu"ed lo"al +ri"es, in

"om+arison to those in #ondon. Budge also tra!elled to -stanbulduring these years to obtain a +ermit

from thettoman Em+irego!ernment to reo+en the Museums e"a!ations at these -ra2i sites. @he

Museum ar"heologists belie!ed that e"a!ations would re!eal more tablets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodminhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodminhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornwallhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._A._Wallis_Budge#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W.H._Smithhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W.H._Smithhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syriachttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akkadian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Museumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Museumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Birchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Birchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Smith_(assyriologist)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuneiformhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austen_Henry_Layardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stainerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stainerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W.H._Smithhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W.H._Smithhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ewart_Gladstonehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._A._Wallis_Budge#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semitic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wright_(orientalist)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._A._Wallis_Budge#cite_note-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_le_Page_Renoufhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_le_Page_Renoufhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_le_Page_Renoufhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuneiformhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodminhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornwallhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._A._Wallis_Budge#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W.H._Smithhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syriachttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akkadian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Museumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Birchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Smith_(assyriologist)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuneiformhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austen_Henry_Layardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stainerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W.H._Smithhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ewart_Gladstonehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._A._Wallis_Budge#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semitic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wright_(orientalist)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._A._Wallis_Budge#cite_note-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_le_Page_Renoufhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuneiformhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empire

8/12/2019 Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge

2/2

>uring his years in the British Museum, Budge also sought to establish ties with lo"al anti2uities dealers

in Egy+t and -ra2 so that the Museum "ould buy anti2uities from them, and a!oid the un"ertainty and "ost

of e"a!ating. @his was a 1'th"entury a++roa"h to building a museum "olle"tion, and it was "hanged

mar(edly by more rigorous ar"heologi"al +ra"ti"es, te"hnology and "umulati!e (nowledge about

assessing artifa"ts in +la"e. Budge returned from his many missions to Egy+tand -ra2 with large

"olle"tions of "uneiform tablets= *yria",Co+ti"and 3ree(manus"ri+ts= as well as signifi"ant "olle"tionsof hierogly+hi"+a+yri. erha+s his most famous a"2uisitions from this time were thea+yrus of Ani,

a Book of the Dead= a "o+y ofAristotles lost Constitution of Athens,and the @ell alAmarnatablets.

Budges +rolifi" and well+lanned a"2uisitions ga!e the British Museum arguably the best An"ient ear

East "olle"tions in the world, at a time when Euro+ean museums were "om+eting to build su"h

"olle"tions. -n 1'DD the AssyriologistAr"hibald *ay"esaid to Budge, . . . What a re!olution you ha!e

effe"ted in the riental >e+artment of the Museum -t is now a !eritable history of "i!iliation in a series of

ob;e"t lessons . . .$F%

Budge be"ame Assistant 0ee+er in his de+artment after ?enouf retired in 18'1, and was "onfirmed as

0ee+er in 18'F. )e held this +osition until 1'/F, s+e"ialiing in Egy+tology. Budge and "olle"tors for

other museums of Euro+e regarded ha!ing the best "olle"tion of Egy+tian and Assyrian anti2uities in theworld as a matter of national +ride, and there was tremendous "om+etition for su"h anti2uities among

them. Museum offi"ials and their lo"al agents smuggled anti2uitiesin di+lomati" +ou"hes, bribed "ustoms

offi"ials, or sim+ly went to friends or "ountrymen in the Egy+tian *er!i"e of Anti2uities to as( them to +ass

their "ases of anti2uities uno+ened. >uring his tenure as 0ee+er, Budge was noted for his (indness and

+atien"e in tea"hing young !isitors to the British Museum.$5%

Budges tenure was not without "ontro!ersy. -n 18': he was sued in the high "ourt by )ormud

?assamfor both slander and libel. Budge had written that ?assam had used his relati!es to smuggle

anti2uities out ofine!ehand had sent only rubbish to the British Museum.@he elderly ?assam was

u+set by these a""usations, and when he "hallenged Budge, he re"ei!ed a +artial a+ology that a later

"ourt "onsidered ungentlemanly. ?assam was su++orted by the ;udge but not the ;ury. After ?assams

death, it was alleged that, while ?assam had made most of the dis"o!eries of anti2uities, "redit was ta(en

by the staff of the British Museum, notably )enry #ayard

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coptic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coptic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hieroglyphhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hieroglyphhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrus_of_Anihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrus_of_Anihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Athenshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Athenshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tell_al-Amarnahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tell_al-Amarnahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Saycehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Saycehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._A._Wallis_Budge#cite_note-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smuggled_antiquitieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._A._Wallis_Budge#cite_note-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hormuzd_Rassamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hormuzd_Rassamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninevehhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninevehhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninevehhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Museumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Museumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Layardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coptic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hieroglyphhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrus_of_Anihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Athenshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tell_al-Amarnahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Saycehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._A._Wallis_Budge#cite_note-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smuggled_antiquitieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._A._Wallis_Budge#cite_note-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hormuzd_Rassamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hormuzd_Rassamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninevehhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Museumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Layard