Heinrich Schliemann Quickly Found Marble Head of Cleopatra in 1888

Summary: Troy discoverer Heinrich Schliemann quickly found a marble head of Cleopatra in 1888 in Alexandria in fulfillment of a wish that he expressed in 1887.

"Schliemann's Cleopatra," a marble portrait of a female with Cleopatra's signature hairstyles, the melon coiffure; Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012, 12:35, image of Cleopatra, Neues Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum Island (German: Museumsinsel), northern Spree Island, historic central Berlin, northeastern Germany: Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany, CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons

Ancient Troy believer and discoverer Heinrich Schliemann quickly found a marble head of Cleopatra in 1888 at ancient Alexandria's palace of the Ptolemies in an astonishingly rapid fulfillment of a wish that he had expressed in 1887.

In a letter dated Sunday, May 1, 1887, German businessman, archaeology pioneer and ancient Troy discoverer Johann Ludwig Heinrich Julius Schliemann (Jan. 6, 1822-Dec. 26, 1890) expressed his desire to discover some statues ("einige Statuen") of Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII Philopator (Ancient Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ, Kleopatra Philopator; ca. 69-Aug. 10 or 12, 30 BCE), according to Scottish classicist David A. Traill in "Schliemann's Last Treasure," published in 2008 in In Pursuit of Wissenschaft: Festschrift für William M. Calder III zum 75 Geburtstag by editors Stephan Heilen, Robert Kirstein, R. Scott Smith, Stephen M. Trzaskoma, Rogier L. van der Wal and Matthias Vorwerk. Schliemann eagerly revealed his goal in an invitation to German anthropologist, physican and pathologist Rudolf Virchow (Oct. 13, 1821-Sep. 5, 1902) to participate in a January 1888 excavation of ancient Alexandria's Ptolemaic palace, according to Schliemann-Virchow correspondence (page 466) published in 1990 by German historian and prehistorian Joachim Hermann (Dec. 19, 1932-Feb. 25, 2010)and Evelin Maaß (Maass) in Die Korrespondenz zwischen Heinrich Schliemann und Rudolf Virchow 1876-1890 (quoted by Traill, "Schliemann's Last Treasure"). Less grandiosely, Schliemann's letter of Sunday, June 12, 1887, hoped for even one statue of Cleopatra, which would be a wonderful find ("Wie herrlich . . . nur eine Statue") (Hermann and Maaß, page 467; quoted by Traill, "Schliemann's Last Treasure").

Schliemann opened the Cleopatra statue-seeking excavation Monday, Feb. 6, 1888, and closed it with Virchow's late arrival on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 1888, according to Traill in Schliemann of Troy: Treasure and Deceit ("Chapter 16 Cleopatra's Head and the Feud With Bötticher," page 267), published in 1995. He sited his excavation at Alexandria's eastern edge, near the Ramleh tram station, adjacent to Cleopatra's Needles. The two red granite obelisks had been transported from Heliopolis (Ancient Egyptian: Jwnw, "the Pillars"; Ancient Greek: Ἡλιούπολις, Helioupοlis, "City of the Sun") to adorn the Caesareum, the temple constructed by Cleopatra in honor of Roman general and statesman Gaius Julius Caesar (July 12 or 13, 100-March 15, 44 BCE). The Ramleh location accorded with the identification of the Ptolemaic palace as in proximity to the harbor and the Caesareum by ancient authors.

The Academy, a review of literature and other topics published from Saturday, Oct. 9, 1869, to Saturday, Jan. 11, 1902, summarized Schliemann's post-excavation communication in the periodical's April 28, 1888 issue. Schliemann's dig to "a depth of 12-14 metres" had revealed "the foundations of a large building. In all probability they are the foundation-walls of one of the palaces of the Ptolemies, which, according to Strabo (xvii. 2, 8), occupied, together with beautiful public grounds, a fourth, or even a third, part of the whole extent of Alexandria" (The Academy, April 28, 1888, no. 834, page 298).

In a letter dated Thursday, May 17, 1888, Schliemann first mentioned achieving his goal of finding a sculpture of Cleopatra during his February excavation in Alexandria. He informed German archaeologist and classical philologist Richard Schöne (Feb. 5, 1840-March 5, 1922), director of the Berlin State Museums (German: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) from 1880 to 1905, that, despite the site's hugeness, astonishing luck had guided him to the exact findspot of a female marble head with a melon hairstyle reminiscent of Cleopatra's characteristic coiffure. Schliemann also boasted of his successful smuggling of the 80-pound sculpture from the excavation site and through customs in Alexandria as unopened hand luggage (Traill, Schliemann of Troy, pages 270-271).

German scholars, however, quickly questioned Schliemann's identification. In a letter dated Friday, Aug. 24, 1888, to French archaeologist and Greek scholar Georges Perrot (Nov. 12, 1832-June 30, 1914), Schliemann relinquished his Cleopatra claim and dated the sculpture to the third century BCE (Traill, Schliemann of Troy, page 271; footnote 11, page 344).

Today's standard view assesses Schliemann's Cleopatra as probably a first-century CE Roman copy of a fourth-century BCE original (Traill, Schliemann of Troy, page 271). Also, doubt prevails for Alexandria as the sculpture's findspot (Higgs, "Searching for Cleopatra's Image," page 203; Traill, "Schliemann's Last Treasure"; Traill, Schliemann of Troy, page 271). Indeed, Schliemann's possession of the sculpture may have dated to his wishful letter of Sunday, May 1, 1887, according to a "reasonable" suspicion expressed by David Traill in "Schliemann's Last Treasure."

Schliemann's melon-coiffed, diadem-lacking sculpture with a damaged nose numbers among the Schliemann Collection held by the Museum Island (German: Museumsinsel) complex's Neues Museum ("New Museum") on historic central Berlin's Spree Island.

bust of Heinrich Schliemann, discoverer of Troy and of bust of Cleopatra, Neues Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum Island (German: Museumsinsel), northern Spree Island, historic central Berlin, northeastern Germany; Saturday, April 18, 2015, 13:59:13, image of Neues Museum's bust of Heinrich Schliemann: Mike Steele (hannibal1107), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

"Schliemann's Cleopatra," a marble portrait of a female with Cleopatra's signature hairstyles, the melon coiffure; Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012, 12:35, image of Cleopatra, Neues Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum Island (German: Museumsinsel), northern Spree Island, historic central Berlin, northeastern Germany: Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany, CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cleopatra,_Roman_copy_of_4th_century_BC_original,_Marble,_Alexandria_from_Schliemann_Collection,_Neues_Museum,_Berlin_(8169157190).jpg

bust of Heinrich Schliemann, discoverer of Troy and of bust of Cleopatra, Neues Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum Island (German: Museumsinsel), northern Spree Island, historic central Berlin, northeastern Germany; Saturday, April 18, 2015, 13:59:13, image of Neues Museum's bust of Heinrich Schliemann: Mike Steele (hannibal1107), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/21022123@N04/17673345491/

For further information:

Google Arts & Culture. "Portrait Bust of Cleopatra, Neues Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin." Google Arts & Culture > Asset.
Available @ https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/portrait-bust-of-cleopatra-unknown/OgFqb8Egs3PZ2Q?hl=en

Heilen, Stephan; Robert Kirstein; R. Scott Smith; Stephen M. Trzaskoma; Rogier L. van der Wal; and Matthias Vorwerk, eds., In Pursuit of Wissenschaft: Festschrift für William M. Calder III zum 75 Geburtstag. Spudasmata, Band 119. Hildesheim/New York: Georg Olms Verlag, 2008. Herrmann, Joachim; and Evelin Maaß. Die Korrespondenz zwischen Heinrich Schliemann und Rudolf Virchow 1876-1890. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1990.

Higgs, Peter. "Desperately Seeking Cleopatra: Schliemann's Cleopatra." Page 203. In: Susan Walker and Peter Higgs, eds., Cleopatra of Egypt: From History to Myth. III Cleopatra and the Power of Rome: pages 189-274. First published in 2001 by The British Museum Press, a division of The British Museum Company Limited. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/cleopatraofegypt0000unse/page/200/mode/1up

Marriner, Derdriu. "Altes Museum Displays Green Caesar Next to Melon Coiffed Cleopatra." Earth and Space News. Thursday, July 20, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/07/altes-museum-displays-green-caesar-next.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Caesar Commissioned Gilt Statue of Cleopatra for Venus Genetrix Temple." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Sep. 22, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/09/caesar-commissioned-gilt-statue-of.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Cleopatra Painting in Pompeii May Copy Statue in Venus Genetrix Temple." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Sep. 29, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/09/cleopatra-painting-in-pompeii-may-copy.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Mother and Child Fresco in Pompeii May Depict Cleopatra With Caesarion." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Sep. 15, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/09/mother-and-child-fresco-in-pompeii-may.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Quintilii Marble Head May Copy Cleopatra Statue in Temple of Venus." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/10/quintilii-marble-head-may-copy.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Villa of Quintilii Marble Head of Cleopatra Models Melon Hairstyle." Earth and Space News. Thursday, March 30, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/03/villa-of-quintilii-marble-head-of.html

Martellière, Marie-Delphine. "Alexandria: The 'Tram' Symbol of Modernity." BnF Bibliothèques d'Orient > Accueil > Crossroads > Railroads > Alexandria.
Available via BnF Bibliothèques d'Orient @ https://heritage.bnf.fr/bibliothequesorient/en/alexandria-tram-symbol-modernity

Schliemann, Heinrich. "In a letter received from Dr. Schliemann at Thebes on his return from his visit to Upper Egypt in company with Prof. Vircow, much regret is expressed that he had not been allowed to make those capital excavations at Alexandria which he had intended. After a careful examination of all the classical traditions, his plan was to dig in the neighbourhood of the Mosque Nebi Daniil, where he assumed that the tomb of Alexander the Great would be found; and at the place where the two obelisks had lain, where he trusted to discover the Caesareum. Unfortunately, the Egyptian Government has refused to grant the necessary permission even for the last-mentioned research, although Nubar Pasha had indicated his willingness for that particular purpose in converstion with the German Ambassador in London last summer. Only on the eastern side of Alexandria was Dr. Schliemann permited to use the spade. Before the arrival of Dr. Virchow, having three weeks at his disposiiton, he drew in that part of the city two great trenches, in which he came upon many graves, and at last, at a depth of 12-14 metres, upon the foundations of a large building. In all probability they are the foundation-walls of one of the palaces of the Ptolemies, which, according to Strabo (xvii. 1, 8), occupied, together with beautiful public grounds, a fourth, or even a third, part of the whole extent of Alexandria." Pages 297-298. The Academy, January-June 1888, vol. XXXIII, April 28, 1888, no. 834. London: The Academy Publishing Office, 1888.
Available @ chrome-extension://https://ia600107.us.archive.org/13/items/TheAcademy_201801/The_Academy.pdf

Traill, David A. Schliemann of Troy: Treasure and Deceit. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/schliemannoftroy0000trai/

Traill, David A. "Two reports later appeared in the Academy. 'Dr. Schliemann has begun his excavations at Ramleh near the railway station and close to the sea, in order to discover the remains of the palace of Cleopatra. He has already come upon three steps which he thinks belonged to the palace, but he intends to continue digging to a depth of fourteen metres. The work has been much hindered by the inflowing water.' [footnote 6, page 344: Academy (10 March 1888) 315] and later: 'Before the arrival of Dr. Virchow, having three weeks at his disposition, he drew in that part of the city two great trenches, in which he came upon many graves, and at last, at a depth of 12-14 metres, upon the foundations of a large building. In all probability they are the foundations of one of the palaces of the Ptolemies . . .' [footnote 7, page: 344: Academy (28 April 1888) 297-98]." Page 268. Schliemann of Troy: Treasure and Deceit. "Chapter 16: Cleopatra's Head and the Feud With Bötticher, pages 267-283. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/schliemannoftroy0000trai/page/268/mode/1up

Traill, David A. "Schliemann's Last Treasure." In: Stephan Heilen, Robert Kirstein, R. Scott Smith, Stephen M. Trzaskoma, Rogier L. van der Wal and Matthias Vorwerk, eds., In Pursuit of Wissenschaft: Festschrift für William M. Calder III zum 75 Geburtstag. Spudasmata, Band 119. Hildesheim/New York: Georg Olms Verlag, 2008.
Available via Academia @ https://www.academia.edu/10018711/Schliemanns_Last_Treasure

Walker, Susan; and Peter Higgs, eds. Cleopatra of Egypt: From History to Myth. First published in 2001 by The British Museum Press, a division of The British Museum Company Limited. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/cleopatraofegypt0000unse/