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Consular staff · Collector · Epigrapher · Traveller / antiquarian

Georges Colonna Ceccaldi

1840–1879 · France

French consular attaché at Beirut who visited Cyprus often from 1866 to 1871, collected there, and worked on the finds of Cesnola and Lang.

Biography

Georges Colonna Ceccaldi (1840-1879) made the first of his many visits to Cyprus in October 1866, while serving as a consular attaché at Beirut, and went on visiting, often for four or five weeks at a time, until 18712. He was the younger brother of Tiburce Colonna Ceccaldi, French consul at Larnaca from 1866 to 1869; Masson points out that McFadden wrongly took Georges for the consul2. He had worked at Alexandria in 1860-62 and studied oriental languages in Paris before the consular service2.

Marangou says he formed his collection of bronzes, idols, terracottas, vases and coins while in Cyprus, collecting everything3. Writing from Ayios Sergios on 14 March 1868, he said he was adding to it daily2. On 3 March 1869 he reported that his brother had sold the Louvre 400 francs' worth of Cypriot terracottas, and Masson found in the Louvre's inventories that the brothers sold it many objects2. Masson rejects Barnett's description of him as a banker and Cesnola's agent5.

He worked on the finds of others. He studied and classified the sculpture from R. H. Lang's excavations at Dali, Idalion and Pyla6, and in May 1870 made about a hundred squeezes of inscriptions with Luigi Palma di Cesnola at Golgoi2. Cesnola gave him the keys to the cases in the American consulate3. About fifty of his letters to Charles Clermont-Ganneau survive for 1866-742.

He left the Levant in October 1871, fell ill in France and died in Paris on 3 September 18791,2. His Monuments antiques de Chypre appeared in 188213.

Life and work

  1. October 1866
    First visit to Cyprus, to his brother Tiburce, French consul at Larnaca; further visits in 1867 (twice), 1868, 1869 and several times 1869-1871, often four or five weeks at a stretch.

    LarnacaMasson 1992, p. 126

  2. 1868
    Wrote from San Sergui (Ayios Sergios) near Salamis (14 March) to Clermont-Ganneau, describing Salamis and his growing collection of bronzes, terracottas, vases and coins.

    Ayios SergiosMasson 1992, p. 127-128

  3. 3 March 1869
    Wrote to Clermont-Ganneau that 'my brother has sold me to the Louvre for 400 francs of Cypriot terracottas' (as transcribed by Masson; the sense is that his brother had sold the Louvre such terracottas). Masson adds that the brothers sold many Cypriot objects to the Louvre and appear often in its inventories.

    BeirutMasson 1992, p. 128 and n. 21

  4. May 1870
    Fifteen days at Golgoi and Pyla in late May 1870, with Cesnola; made about 100 squeezes of unpublished inscriptions; published Golgoi account in Revue archéologique 1870-71.

    GolgoiMasson 1992, p. 129-130

  5. February 1871
    Planned to go to Cyprus to sell his brother's furniture (letter of 19 Feb 1871); drew the conical stone found at Golgoi.

    Masson 1992, p. 130

  6. October 1871
    Left the Levant for good and returned to France; ill, he later died in Paris.

    ParisMasson 1992, p. 126Masson 1990

  7. 1882
    Monuments antiques de Chypre, de Syrie et d'Égypte, his collected articles, published posthumously (Paris, Didier), probably edited by Clermont-Ganneau according to Masson.

    ParisMasson 1992, p. 125 and n. 6

Connections

11 people
Henri HoffmannDominique Albert Edouard …Madame veuve Colonna-Cecc…Luigi Palma di CesnolaRobert Hamilton LangWilhelm FroehnerThomas Backhouse SandwithCharles Clermont-GanneauAlbert DumontGeorges (Georgos) N. Lani…S. DardelGeorges Colonna Ceccaldi
Sales & giftsFamilyScholarshipColleagues

Sales, gifts & bequests

Fieldwork & employment

Scholarship

Colleagues & contacts

Objects

  • Cypriot terracottas sold to the Louvre by the Colonna-Ceccaldi brothers (inventory N III series; e.g. N III 3436 glass alabastron 'acq. Colonna-Ceccaldi'; N 3293-3294 terracotta shrine models, found by Tiburce at Idalion 1868)

    From Idalion and elsewhereMusée du Louvre N III 3436; N 3293-32941868–1871Masson 1992, p. 128 n. 21Masson 1992, figs. 4-5 caption

Sources

  1. 1.Georges Colonna-Ceccaldi (Wikidata record).
  2. 2.O. Masson (1992). “Diplomates et amateurs d'antiquités à Chypre vers 1866-1878”. Journal des Savants, 123-154.
  3. 3.A. G. Marangou (ed.) (2000). The Consul Luigi Palma di Cesnola 1832-1904: Life and Deeds.
  4. 4.O. Masson (1990). “Correspondances chypriotes: lettres des frères Colonna-Ceccaldi et de L. Palma di Cesnola à W. Froehner”. Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes 14, 29-44. Online
  5. 5.O. Masson (1990). “Cesnola à Amathonte, 1874-1875”. Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes 13, 15-18.
  6. 6.Annie Caubet (1993). “Les antiquités chypriotes au Musée du Louvre”. Kinyras : l'archéologie française à Chypre. Lyon. Online
  7. 7.Marie-Christine Hellmann (1991). “W. Froehner et Chypre”. Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes 16, 17-28. Online
  8. 8.Olivier Masson (1996). “La dispersion des antiquités chypriotes: les deux collections Cesnola”. Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes 25, 3-32. Online
  9. 9.R. H. Lang (1878). Cyprus: Its History, Its Present Resources and Future Prospects. London, Macmillan.
  10. 10.Pamela Gaber (2008). “The History of History: Excavations at Idalion and the Changing History of a City-Kingdom”. Near Eastern Archaeology 71. Online
  11. 11.Antoinette J. Decaudin (1993). “Musée de Cannes. Chypre dans l'antiquité. Catalogue”. Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes 19. Online
  12. 12.G. Colonna Ceccaldi (1870). “Découvertes de Chypre”. Revue archéologique 21, 23-36.
  13. 13.Georges Colonna Ceccaldi (1882). Monuments antiques de Chypre, de Syrie et d'Égypte. Paris, Didier. Online
  14. 14.Musée du Louvre, Dali basalt vessels N III 3419 and N III 3420.