The Souvenir of Egypt is a decorative silk on which a variety of images are depicted, including texts, flags, portraits and a landscape scene. The variety of flags and faces, and the apparent diversity of their national origins make the silk particularly interesting from a historical standpoint. The near complete lack of names or dates presents a perfect opportunity to explore the resources and methods used by historians to research this kind of artifact.

TIMEA

The silk is one of many artifacts and texts that have been digitized and published online by the TIMEA project at Rice University. TIMEA, standing for Travelers In the Middle East Archive, is a digital archive of narratives documenting travel to the Middle East published between the eighteenth and early twentieth centuries, along with images and interactive GIS maps. This course contributes to the project by organizing a virtual research project around the digitized image of the Souvenir of Egypt. In this way the image of the silk in the digital archive can be used to demonstrate the practical application of certain research methods as well as to highlight the resources available to university students.

The Souvenir of Egypt virtual research project

This course will document a series of research projects in which we will research and identify each of the images in the silk in order to gain an understanding of their meanings independently and in relation to one another. In each section of the module we will introduce and explore different resources and research techniques. Although the modules are centered on the resources available through the Fondren library at Rice University, the resources described are available to most university students through their own university libraries. The research techniques we use are addressed throughout the course as independent aspects of the project, that is, you can use the course to explore the resources and techniques we use just as you would use the the resources and techniques to explore alternate topics.

Below we have divided the project into categories of images found in the silk. Under each heading you will find lists of the sorts of historical questions that will come up in the project. You may select any of these to take you directly to the section in which they are addressed. Be aware, however, that the project is progressive and some of the resources and techniques are cumulative. In order to grasp how we are using a specific resource at a specific location in the course you may need to back track a bit.

The Texts

The Souvenir of Egypt contains four separate bodies of text, each requiring different research methods and resources. In this section we examine each of the texts for origin and meaning, accumulating resources as we go that are used both alone and together. The following list describes the questions that arise during the examination of the texts and the resources and methods we explore for each with links to the sections in which they are introduced.

How to find assistance with the translation of texts written in a language foreign to you

How to trace the origins of a quoted phrase or verse of poetry

How to locate a specific phrase in the holdings of your university library using subject searches

How to use online reference sources to define specific words in a text.

The Flags

There are seven flags represented in the Souvenir of Egypt. In this section we use a variety of resources to discover the origins and periods of use for each flag. Below is a list of the methods and resources we have used for each with a link to their locations in the course. The following list describes the questions that arise during the examination of the flags and the resources and methods we explore for each with links to the sections in which they are introduced.

How to locate the relevant reference material to research the identity of an unnamed flag

Which we then follow with a few examinations of some of those materials

How to identify unnamed flags using online resources

How to use the online resources and reference materials together to overcome research obstacles

A warning about hasty examinations of seemingly obvious imagery, including a person confession from the author

A warning about assuming that historical images such as flags are accurately represented in your artifact

A complete list of the origins and periods of use for our flags

And a discussion of the ways to use the different dates we have found to narrow down the period of the Souvenir of Egypt’s production.

The Faces

The Souvenir of Egypt contains six different faces, but no adjoining labels with which to identify them. In this section of the module we will use a variety of resources to identify the individuals represented in the six portraits. Below is a list of the methods and resources we have used with links to their locations in the module.

How to use the reference section in your university’s library

How to locate a collection of resource materials in the stacks by targeting a specific work in your libraries catalogue

Using Regional Encyclopedias,Political Dictionaries,Regional Dictionaries, locating General Histories in your libraries catalogue and Using General Histories and .Using Historical Dictionaries.

How to put a face to a name using online search engines

How to locate biographical information in Who's Who

or the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

What is the Cambridge University Press

Then we provide a list of the identities of every portrait along with the periods of their prominence in the regions they are associated with through the flags they are coupled with in the silk. Then we further narrow the period of our study with the application of this information.

The Symbols

The Souvenir of Egypt contains seven images that compose a scene in the center of the silk that we refer here as the symbols. We use a variety of resources to infer what the symbols are intended to represent. Below is a list of the methods and resources we have used along with links to their locations in the module.

What to do when you are faced with a research topic with which you have absolutely no familiarity.

Utilizing Your advisor

Using the Reference desk at your university library

How to locate a faculty member with a background in the subject you are researching.

What is the protocol for contacting experts.

We demonstrate this protocol through an extensive exchange with a variety of experts at Rice University. Then, we then provide a breakdown of our exchange with the experts as it pertains to our research project.

How to follow a subject thread through your librarie's catalogue.

A consideration of how we view symbols and what we might take for granted

Using particular aspects of a symbol to ascertain its possible meanings

How to locate and use reference materials that deal with the symbolic meaning of your subject.

Researching symbolic themes in art such as nature, natural objects or the ornamental motifs of a specific period.

How to identify the symbols in an image by locating and comparing similar images.

How to identify the genre of your images by looking for its recurrence as a motif.

Using the Oxford Reference Online Core in defining such terms as "orientalism"

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This work is licensed by David Getman under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 2.0), and is an Open Educational Resource.

Last edited by David Getman on Sep 11, 2005 8:34 pm GMT-5.