Egypt, Ancient
Stele (Archaeology)
Carving (Decorative arts)
Stele (carving in stone) of Akhenaten. The stele depicts human figure kneeling before the sun. The pieces of the stele are held together in a thick wooden frame.
Steele, Lawrence E.
Copyright RDS Library & Archives. Publication, transmission or display is prohibited without formal written approval of the RDS Library & Archives.
Still image
Tombs
Stele
Tell el-Amarna (Egypt)
Stele depicting Ay (1352-48 BC) and his wife Teye, receiving the gold of recompense, as a token of the esteem of Akhenaten, from the tomb chapel of Ay at Tell el-Amarna, Egypt.
Limestone slab painting of Senusret, chief of the treasury, Middle Kingdom. Egyptian 12th Dynasty.
Still Image
Still life painting
Royal Dublin Society
Vonck, Elías, 1605-1652
RDS_treasures_142_Vonck_Dead game framed 1.jpg
Painting, Dutch--17th century
Still life with four dead gamebirds. A grey partridge hangs by its proper right leg above a falconry perch, from which a rufter hood hangs, and a fringed cloth is draped over the edge; above the partridge a small, short-beaked gamebird hangs by its neck; to the left of the composition, a small, long-beaked bird lies on the bell of a hunting horn and a small, short-beaked bird lies on a game bag; behind the falconry perch are (what appear to be) a hawking cage and a spring box cage propped against a wall; the entire arrangement set against a dark, non-descript interior.
1640
RDS_treasures_143_Vonck_Still life with gamebirds.jpg
Still life with a dead hare suspended by its right hind leg, its head resting on a stone ledge; to left of the composition, an (unidentified) object on the ledge; set against a non-descript, dark background; unsigned.
Collins, Charles, c.1640-1744
c.1735
RDS_treasures_139_Collins_Hare framed.jpg
Carved slab of stone against stone wall.
Tools
A collection of stone artefacts including stone arrowheads.
Mural painting and decoration
Deir el-Bahri Site (Egypt)
Large stone blocks with painted figures and hieroglyphs in Deir el-Bahari, Egypt.
Hieroglyphics
Stone wall with carvings depicting lots of small birds and large figures of men walking. Hieroglyphs are also visible.
A white stone carving depicting a cat and bird facing one another. Source is "Le Musée Égyptien. Recueil de monuments et de notices sur les fouilles d’Égypte. Tome I" , English name (The Egyptian Museum. Collection of monuments and notices on the excavations of Egypt. Volume I) by Gaston Maspero and E. Grebaut
Relief (Art)
Horses in art
Stone carving of horse's head. The horse is facing to the right and has an open mouth.
Stone carving of man with headdress, with hieroglyphics in background. Located in Karnak, Egypt.
Still image.
Engraving of a pharaoh and hieroglyphs on stone.
Archaeology
Photograph of a stone orthostat with hieroglyphics among excavated ruins. A section of a second orthostat is visible in the image.
Photograph of a stone orthostat with hieroglyphics from the Temple of Mut.
Pit in the ground lined with stones at the necropolis Umm El Qaʻāb at Abydos, Egypt.
Rectangular stone plaque carved with hieroglyphics.
Egypt
Quarry in Egypt, likely one of the Aswan granite quarries. Granite from these quarries was used to build monuments such as obelisks, sarcophagi, and statues.
Stone slab carved to depict two men that appear to be holding tools or weapons. One figure appears to have a person over their shoulder.
Sculpture
Large stone sculpture of man lying in the desert in Egypt. Two Egyptian men and donkeys stand nearby.
Engraving
A stone slab with small carvings including an insect.
Busts
Statues
A photograph of stone fragments spread across the ground, with a bust in the foreground.
Numerous stone fragments, with two sides containing carvings visible. There is a young man in the background.
Stone fragments on the ground. Two stones have damaged carvings on their sides.
Stone steps in Ancient Egyptian structure, possibly a tomb.
Damaged glass slide with partially visible stone structure in Egypt.
Pyramids
Ṣaqqārah (Egypt)--Antiquities
Steep slope with stone slabs and smaller stones falling down it. Possibly part of the Pyramid of Unas at the entrance of the site of Saqqara, Egypt.
Photograph of an ancient stone structure in a desert-like environment.
Stone structure and wall with hieroglyphs
Close up view of a stone structure with a wall in the background. Both structures are decorated with hieroglyphs.
Wall of a stone structure, probably a temple, beside the sea. Land is visible in the distance.
Nile River
Coloured image of an island covered in dense green vegetation, including one tree. Next to the tree is a stone structure, which is square and yellow.
Remains of stone blocks and stone wall at Deir el-Bahari, Egypt.
Stone structure with hieroglyphs inscribed on it.
Stone wall made of large bricks with hieroglyphs inscribed in it.
Stone wall and rocks scattered on the ground. The wall is possibly part of a tomb or temple.
Walls
Walls made of large stone bricks in Egypt.
Partially crumbled stone wall with a dog at the base of it.
View of Egyptian desert with stone wall covered in sand in the foreground.
Cooking
Stone wall at Tell el-Amarna with a stone structure (possibly an oven) attached.
Stone wall with two small entrances. One entrance is covered with metal railings.
Copyright RDS Library and Archives. Publication, transmission or display is prohibited without formal written approval of the RDS Library and Archives.
Strawberry, the property of Henry Garnett
Dublin Society
Dublin Society. Drawing Schools
Cattle
Portrait of Strawberry, a longhorn cow. The subject modelled from side view and facing right. With the inscription, "In the possession of Hy. Garnett of Greenpark Co. of Meath." The original drawing by James Henry Brocas was commissioned by the Dublin Society for the "Statistical survey of the county of Meath: with observations on the means of improvement; drawn up for the consideration, and under the direction of the Dublin Society". Written by Robert Thompson of Oatland. Printed by Graisberry and Campbell, no. 10, Back-lane., 1802.
Brocas, James Henry, approximately 1790-1846
1802
Streets
Street with large white structure on the left and smaller stone structure with three gateways on the right. Palm trees and locals are visible on the street.
Remains of structure at the base of a pyramid.
Structure and trees in the Nile River surrounded by water.
Fortresses
Structure, possibly a fortress, and some trees, on the riverbank of the Nile.
Structure on the banks of the River Nile.
Photograph of a structure on the banks of the River Nile. Palm trees and a rocky hill are visible in the background.
Arches
Large stone structure with two arches . The desert is visible in the background.
Structure that is only partially visible due to glass slide damage. Designs are engraved on the structure.
Stone structure with hieroglyph engravings.
Walls and small buildings on a steep, stony riverbank of the Nile.
Agriculture
Agricultural science
Agriscience
Science
The digital reproduction of Studies on Irish Vegetation: Contributions from participants in the vegetation excursion to Ireland July 1980 organised by the International Society for Vegetation Science edited by James White.
James White
1982
RDS Library & Archives
Print
Train
Sudan (Region)
Sudan Government Railway train with some people on the platform.
Royal Dublin Society. Spring Show
Cattle. Breeding. Ireland
Shorthorn cattle
Beef cattle breeds
Sultan, owner and exhibitor Major John Alexander, Milford, Co. Carlow. Winner of First Prize in Class 5, Shorthorn bull, entry 264.
RDS proceedings, volume 136, November 9, 1899, to March 8, 1900
1900
Black and white photograph in a bound photographic album
RDS_photo albums_1899_1900_49 of 103.jpg
Temples
Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul, Türkiye.
Agriculture. Ireland. 20th century
Royal Dublin Society. Summer Festival
Summer Festival to be held on the Society's premises, Ballsbridge, Dublin on June 4, 5, 6 & 7, 1993. 'Live stock and equestrian classes' at the Summer Festival 4 - 7 June, 1993. Prize schedule. Agricultural equipment awards sponsored by FBD Trust Company Limited. Irish Forestry awards. Inter schools showjumping programme. RDS Summer Festival & ESB Garden World 4-7 June, 1993. Livestock & equestrian catalogue. List of awards.
RDS proceedings, volume 230, May-December, 1993
1993
FBD Trust
Survey of the Botanic Gardens of Glasnevin
Copyright RDS Library & Archives. Publication, transmission or display is prohibited without formal written approval of the RDS Library & Archives
Astronomy
Although there are many variations between telescopes, they can be divided into two distinct categories − refracting and reflecting. Refracting telescopes use glass lenses to focus the incoming image. Reflecting telescopes use mirrors as the main element (though they also use lenses to focus images). This telescope made by John Alment is a reflecting telescope, with a figured (i.e. ground to give a suitable concave surface) and polished ‘primary’ metal mirror of diameter 64mm at the base of the main tube. The tube is pointed at the image to be viewed, and the primary mirror directs the image to a much smaller ‘secondary’ mirror situated centrally at the front end of the main tube. This in turn reflects the image through a hole in the middle of the primary mirror and through a lens to give an image at the eyepiece, the arrangement of lens and eyepiece occupying a tube of much smaller diameter projecting from the bottom of the main tube. This arrangement is usually called a ‘Cassegrain’ reflecting telescope, named after a Frenchman who proposed the arrangement in 1672 . A dark red glass filter can be screwed over the eyepiece so that very bright images (e.g. the sun) can be viewed without damage to the eye. The telescope is focused by a knurled knob at the eyepiece end of the instrument, which moves the position of the secondary mirror at the top of the tube. Looking down the main tube from the top: the circular metal ‘primary’ mirror, with a hole at its centre, is at the bottom of the tube, with the small ‘secondary’ mirror at the top. The position of the latter can be adjusted using the knurled knob at the bottom of the telescope. The main tube is secured by two butterfly nuts to a pivoted support on top of a turned brass pillar, with folding cabriole tripod legs at the bottom. Though really not much more than a toy, which, though, would be particularly suitable for viewing the moon, the ensemble makes for a most attractive instrument. It has a beautiful trade card of John Alment under the lid of its fitted oak case. The text on this trade card reads: John Alment Optician At ye sign of ye Spectacles in Marys Abbey Dublin Makes Optical, Philosophical & Mathematical Instruments Viz Spectracles, Concave Glass, Telescopes, Microscopes &c Reading & Opera Glasses Air Pumps, Electrical Machines, Barometers, Thermometers, With Variety of Drawing, Surveying INSTRUMENTS The trade card also has lovely instrument illustrations (anti-clockwise from top left): horizontal sun dial, universal ring dial, theodolite on tripod stand, spectacles, compound microscope, reflecting telescope (similar to the actual instrument in the case), four-draw refracting telescope; stick barometer (with two small unidentified instruments beside it), set of drawing instruments in shagreen case, and, in the centre, spectacles again. It is not possible to know with certainty if such instruments were actually made by the named instrument maker (the telescope itself is not signed), whether they were assembled from parts made by others, or whether they were simply retailed. This type and size of telescope is not uncommon, and the instruments can be signed by a variety of different makers. Mollan, C. (1997). Appendix. Most Recent Inventory of the RDS Scientific Instrument Collection.
Alment, John, 1740-1787
Royal Dublin Society. Winter Show
Oxen
Talana Again, polled angus cross, black, calved September, 1898, bred by exhibitor and owner Right Hon. Viscount Duncannon, C. B., Bessborough Park, Piltown. Winner of first prize in Class 27, Natural Polled Ox, 2 years 8 months and under, entry 338.
RDS_photo albums_1899_1900_99 of 103.jpg
Talana Hill, calved February 24th, 1897, owner The Rf. Hon. Viscount Duncannon, C. B. Bssborough Park, Piltown, co. Kilkenny. Winner of First prize in Class 26 (Natural polled ox, over 2 years, 8 months and not exceeding 4 years, entry 320)
RDS proceedings, volume 135, November 10th, 1898 to March 9th, 1899
1899
RDS_photo albums_1899_1900_43 of 103.jpg
Buildings
Ruins
Photograph of a large, tall, conical brick structure, that appears to be a remnant of a larger building. Three people are standing on a set of steps in the centre of the image.
Dublin Horse Show
Royal Dublin Society. Horse Show
Photograph of tea being served on the Band Lawn at the RDS Dublin Horse Show 1933.
1933
Technical drawing of an archaeological site
Floor plans
Image of a technical drawing of an archaeological site. The drawing consists of a top-down view and a cross-section view, showing the layout and structure of a tomb or chapel with shafts and a burial chamber.
View from the side of the temple, showning the full complex. Base is submerged due to flooding
Entrance of the Temple at Deir-el-Medina, with metal gate and people and donkeys standing nearby.
Photo of temple at Phyloe. Described as "Grande Temple aet Kiosque" in online sources. Temple has ruins in front and hill in the background. Relief carvings on front wall of temple.
Woman standing in the doorway of a temple made with slabs of stone.
Columns
Temple gateway with column and stone blocks falling from roof.
Interior of a temple showing hierogylphics and carvings.
Brown-tinted image inside temple with tall columns. Person is visible to the right of the image.
Corner and doorway of temple in Egypt. The walls are carved with male figure and hieroglyphs.
The Temple of Amada in Nubia, Egypt. The temple was constructed during the 18th century by Pharoah Thutmose III.
Valley of the Kings (Egypt)
North face of the Temple of Amenhotep at Luxor. View of three statues, one seated, the second missing its head, and the third missing its upper body. Line of columns behind the statues.
Wall carving at the Temple of Amenhotep IV at Karnak. The relief depicts Amenhotep IV and his wife Nefertiti and their two daughters offering gifts to the sun.
Lebanon
The Temple of Bacchus at Baalbek, Lebanon. Several of the columns have collapsed.
Fluted column in the Temple of Beit el-Wali in Nubia, Egypt. Column has hieroglyphs engraved on one side.
Bottom of image damaged. Gate entrance with pillar columns at temple. Base is flooded.
Deir el-Medina (Egyptian Arabic: دير المدينة), or Dayr al-Madīnah, is an ancient Egyptian workmen's village which was home to the artisans who worked on the tombs in the Valley of the Kings during the 18th to 20th Dynasties of the New Kingdom of Egypt (ca. 1550–1080 BC). The settlement's ancient name was Set maat ("Place of Truth"), and the workmen who lived there were called "Servants in the Place of Truth". During the Christian era, the temple of Hathor was converted into a Monastery of Saint Isidorus the Martyr (Coptic: ⲡⲧⲟⲡⲟⲥ ⲙ̄ⲫⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲡⲁ ⲓⲥⲓⲇⲱⲣⲟⲥ ⲡⲙⲁⲣⲧⲉⲣⲟⲥ) from which the Egyptian Arabic name Deir el-Medina ("Monastery of the City") is derived. At the time when the world's press was concentrating on Howard Carter's discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, a team led by Bernard Bruyère began to excavate the site.This work has resulted in one of the most thoroughly documented accounts of community life in the ancient world that spans almost four hundred years. There is no comparable site in which the organisation, social interactions, working and living conditions of a community can be studied in such detail. The site is located on the west bank of the Nile, across the river from modern-day Luxor. The village is laid out in a small natural amphitheatre, within easy walking distance of the Valley of the Kings to the north, funerary temples to the east and south-east, with the Valley of the Queens to the west. The village may have been built apart from the wider population in order to preserve secrecy in view of sensitive nature of the work carried out in the tombs. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
View of pylon and remains of the Roman Temple of Dendur in Nubia, Egypt.
The Temple of Dendur (Dendoor in the 19th century) is a Roman Egyptian religious structure originally located in Tuzis (later Dendur), Nubia about 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of modern Aswan. Around 23 BCE, Emperor Augustus commissioned the temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis and deified brothers Pedesi and Pihor from Nubia. In 1963, as part of the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, UNESCO helped rescue and relocate the temple from flooding caused by the Aswan High Dam.[5] Egypt gave the temple to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, which has exhibited it since 1978. Petronius, the Roman governor of Egypt, built the Temple of Dendur at the request of Caesar Augustus, the emperor of Rome that included Egypt at that time. Originally named Octavian, Augustus became emperor after defeating Mark Antony and Egyptian Queen Cleopatra in 31 BCE. During his reign, Augustus had Egyptian-style temples built and dedicated to Egyptian gods and goddesses. However, he only commissioned a few temples in Nubia. One of those was the Temple of Dendur which he placed on the west bank of the Nile river in Tuzis (later Dendur, about 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of modern Aswan). Construction started in 23 BCE and finished in 10 BCE. Augustus used the temple to legitimize and maintain his rule.[2] Part of his strategy was connecting his name and image with Isis, the primary deity in Dendur, and the local cult of Pedesi and Pihor. It was more than a temple—it was also a home for the gods. When the local people visited the temple and brought traditional gifts of incense, wine, cold water, clothing, food, and milk, they nurtured their ruler, Augustus, and also ensured their community's prosperity. In the sixth century, Coptic Christians used the temple as a church. When Egypt increased the height of the Aswan Low Dam in 1933, the temple's proximity to the Nile was problematic. The temple complex began flooding for nine months each year.
The Temple of Edfu is an Egyptian temple located on the west bank of the Nile in Edfu, Upper Egypt. The city was known in the Hellenistic period in Koine Greek as Ἀπόλλωνος πόλις and in Latin as Apollonopolis Magna, after the chief god Horus, who was identified as Apollo under the interpretatio graeca.It is one of the best preserved shrines in Egypt. The temple was built in the Ptolemaic Kingdom between 237 and 57 BC. The inscriptions on its walls provide important information on language, myth and religion during the Hellenistic period in Egypt. In particular, the Temple's inscribed building texts "provide details [both] of its construction, and also preserve information about the mythical interpretation of this and all other temples as the Island of Creation."There are also "important scenes and inscriptions of the Sacred Drama which related the age-old conflict between Horus and Seth."They are translated by the Edfu-Project.
Temple of Fire at the Temple of Hathor, located in Dendara, Egypt.
Distant view of the Temple of Gournou, Egypt. A pile of rocks is in the foreground.
Mural depicting two figures facing each other in the Temple of Hathor at Abu Simbel, Egypt.
Statues of Ramesses II and his wife Nefertari at entrance to Temple of Hathor at Abu Simbel, Egypt.
Doorway and four columns in the Temple of Horemheb at Gebel Ada, Egypt.
Doorway and two columns in the Temple of Horemheb at Gebel Adda, Egypt.
View from a high point of the north entrance Temple of Horus at Edfu. Six columns with entrance in the middle. Opening in the roof is visible, but filled in.
North entrance to Temple of Horus at Edfu. View from the courtyard. Three columns to the right of the entrance and one to the left visible. Opening in the roof of the temple.