Letter from Forrer to Schaeffer on the drawings of objects found during the excavationsW. Forrer

WOLFGANG FORRER c/o INSTITUT FRANÇAIS D'ARCHÉOLOGIE B.P. 1424 BEYROUTH / LIBAN

Margin top: R. 2 17/IV/ Forrer

Beirut, 4 April 1950

Dear Sir,

I thank you for your last letter in which you authorised me to go to Palmyra after having finished the drawings of Enkomi and Ras Shamra. In Nicosia I had to extend my stay by a further ten days and consequently I only returned to Beirut on 26 March. I have finished the drawings of the objects from Tomb 5 and of the types of vessels from Tomb 11 not drawn by Mr Pironin and upon my arrival in Beirut I set about the execution in Indian ink. I expect to have finished by 20 April (drawings of the objects and plans and sections of Tomb 5). I will send you these drawings at the next opportunity to Paris.

[sketch: small hooked toolAs for the collection of bronzes of Mr Stylianou: Mr Dikaios did not want to let me take these objects without having them cleaned, because of the possibility of inscriptions. He promised to send them to me immediately after the cleaning. He had already indicated 3 pieces that he would probably keep, and I made the drawings of them. It concerns a small sickle (he has still three others in the collection), of a kind of „Hacke“ and of another tool of the same kind.]

As Mr Seyrig and Mr Will have several times stressed to me the necessity of going to Palmyra immediately as early as possible, that is at the latest by the end of April because one must take advantage of the presence of Mr Naoumije, draughtsman, at Palmyra, to orient myself, I thought I could accept count on your agreement and I accepted to go there when I have finished, as you wrote to me, with the drawings of Enkomi and Ras Shamra, and this will be the case around the 20 April. I will hurry with my work at Palmyra so that I can present to you the drawings of the cylinders at the earliest possible time.

Please, dear Sir, remember me kindly to Madame Schaeffer and accept my respectful greetings. Wolfgang Forrer