Patron · Dealer · Agent · Collector
Charles Christian
1855–1912 · United Kingdom
Banker at the Imperial Ottoman Bank in Cyprus who backed the 1885-86 Poli excavation syndicate, sold finds to the British Museum and acted as its agent from 1893.
Biography
Charles Christian was a banker at the Imperial Ottoman Bank, at Limassol and later Larnaca, who backed an excavating syndicate in Cyprus and sold its finds to the British Museum. He was born about 18551. His younger brother Percy Christian, born in 1871, did much of the fieldwork3. Ulbrich and Kiely describe the two as running a licensed commercial excavating syndicate in 1883-861.
Max Ohnefalsch-Richter names "Messrs. C. Watkins, C. Christian and J. W. Williamson" as his cooperators at Marion, and says Christian was a sleeping partner in John William Williamson's 1883 dig at Kourion9. Of the 1886 syndicate, Myres and Ohnefalsch-Richter give the backers as Christian, Watkins and Williamson8. The finds were exported and consigned to the Delestre and Hoffmann sale in Paris on 27-28 May 18876. The British Museum bought a marble kouros, the Pasiades alabastron and a silver fly ring directly from him in 1887, and a scarab in 1889; Smith adds that he bought much land at Polis5.
From 1893 he acted with Williamson as the Museum's agent, arranging permits, and the Museum bought the Maroni gold through his agency in 18932. Letters between him and the Museum run from 1888 to 18993. Nothing is recorded of his life after the Museum's Cyprus correspondence ends.
Life and work
- 1883Sleeping partner in J. W. Williamson's commercial dig at Kourion; Ohnefalsch-Richter complained of it
- 1885–1886One of the three Englishmen (with Watkins and Williamson) backing the Poli/Marion excavation syndicate led by Ohnefalsch-Richter
Polis tis ChrysochouMyres & Ohnefalsch-Richter 1899Reinach 1891Ohnefalsch-Richter 1893, pp. viii
- May 1887Syndicate finds consigned to the Delestre and Hoffmann sale at the Hotel Drouot, 27-28 May 1887, catalogue by Froehner
ParisHellmann 1991, p. 5
- 1887Sold the Marion marble kouros, the Pasiades alabastron and a silver fly ring direct to the British Museum
- 1893With Williamson, agent of the British Museum arranging permits for the Turner Bequest excavations; work largely delegated to his brother Percy
- 1893BM bought gold (cat. 615-616) and Maroni items through his agency
Connections
13 peopleSales, gifts & bequests
- Financed Max Ohnefalsch-Richter1885–1886
- Consigned to Henri Hoffmann1887
- Gave to Henri Hoffmann1887
- Consigned to Maurice Delestre1887
- Sold to Alexander Stuart Murray1893
Family
- Sibling of Christian
- Sibling of Frank Christian
- Sibling of Percy Christian
Fieldwork & employment
- Employed Alexandros of Limassol1883
- Excavated with John William Williamson1883
- Had digging done by Max Ohnefalsch-Richter1885–1886
- Dug for Charles F. Watkins1886
- Employed Max Ohnefalsch-Richter1886
Scholarship
- Corresponded with Alexander Stuart Murray1886–1887
- Collection catalogued by Wilhelm Froehner1887
- Material published by Kenneth A. Sheedy2008
Colleagues & contacts
- Worked with John William Williamson1883–1899
- Worked with Percy Christian1883–1899
- Worked with Charles F. Watkins1885–1887
- Worked with Max Ohnefalsch-Richter1885–1886
- Worked with Ernst Footprobably1886
Objects
Marble kouros from Marion (B 325)
From Polis tis ChrysochouBritish Museum 1887.8-1.11887Childs et al. 2012, pp. 16-17
Carnelian scarab with winged goddess, registered as from Mari
British Museum 1889.10-15.11889Childs et al. 2012, cat. no. 48
Sources
- 1.Anja Ulbrich, Thomas Kiely (2012). “Britain and the Archaeology of Cyprus. I. The long 19th century”. Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes 42. Online
- 2.Elizabeth Sarah Goring (1983). “Late Cypriot Goldwork, vol. 1”. PhD thesis, Bedford College, University of London.
- 3.Veronica Tatton-Brown (ed.) (2001). Cyprus in the 19th Century AD: Fact, Fancy and Fiction. Oxford, Oxbow.
- 4.Michael Given (2001). “The fight for the past: Watkins vs. Warren (1885-6) and the control of excavation”. Cyprus in the 19th Century AD: Fact, Fancy and Fiction, 255-260. London, British Museum.
- 5.W. A. P. Childs (ed.), J. S. Smith (ed.), J. M. Padgett (ed.) (2012). City of Gold: The Archaeology of Polis Chrysochous, Cyprus. Princeton, Princeton University Art Museum.
- 6.Marie-Christine Hellmann (1991). “W. Froehner et Chypre”. Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes 16, 17-28. Online
- 7.Anna Holly Reeve (2021). “Ancient Cyprus in Leeds: Objects, Networks and Museums from 1870 to 1947”. PhD thesis, University of Leeds.
- 8.J. L. Myres, M. Ohnefalsch-Richter (1899). A Catalogue of the Cyprus Museum. Oxford, Clarendon Press.
- 9.Max Ohnefalsch-Richter (1893). Kypros, the Bible and Homer. London, Asher & Co.. Online
- 10.H.-G. Buchholz (1989). “Max Ohnefalsch-Richter als Archäologe auf Zypern”. Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes 11-12, 3-27.
- 11.Salomon Reinach (1891). Chroniques d'Orient.