Militarily, the attempted colonization of Egypt by the French was a disaster. However, another aspect of the campaign, scientific expedition and excavation, however, gave rise to the modern study of ancient Egypt. Among the objects found during the expedition was the Rosetta Stone, which was the key to decoding ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. Much of what has been learned about ancient Egypt can be traced to this discovery.

The expedition also created one of the seminal works of Egyptology, Description De L'Egypte. This twenty-volume tome was the first and foremost catalog of the ancient civilization's artwork, architecture, and crafts.  An exhaustive work, the finished Description De L'Egypte tirelessly depicted pyramids, wall paintings, everyday items, mummies, and landscapes of the famous civilization in many volumes of black and white and hand-colored engravings. The expedition itself took more than 500 people, including about 150 biologists, mineralogists, linguists, mathematicians, chemists, and other scholars nearly thirty years to complete.

We are proud to offer the fifty best of these plates from the Field Museum's Description De L'Egypte. Rich in ancient history, these plates depict the breathtaking beauty of the discovery of an ancient land through the eyes of the explorers. Admire the craftsmanship, the careful colorations, and the magnificent engravings of the finest French artisans through the Oppenheimer Field Museum Edition of Description of Egypt. Each print is on Somerset acid-free, cotton rag watercolor paper imported from England.

Price range: Individual prints: $600-$1,500

Complete sets of Description De L'Egypte's Fifty Best: $12,000