Theodore M. Davis: America’s Most Important Egyptologist

In this installment of ‘Profiles in History,’ a wealthy New York businessman ventures to Luxor’s Valley of the Kings and makes incredible discoveries.

Theodor M. Davis, lawyer, financier, and Egyptologist. Library of Congress. Public Domain

Theodore Roosevelt decided not to run for reelection in 1908. He had tabbed his vice president, William Howard Taft, to be the Republican candidate, and Taft won the presidency. Now, the former president and outdoorsman found himself in Egypt. With his political career supposedly behind him, the first thing he wished to do was go on an African safari.

His safari from 1909 to 1910 merely added to Roosevelt’s legend. Of course, as arguably the world’s most famous man, he was wanted everywhere he went. In March 1910, he visited Cairo and spent an evening with Abbas Hilmi, the khedive of Egypt.

“It would give me much pleasure if Mrs. Roosevelt and yourself would lunch with me on my Dahabya [sic] at one o’clock on Saturday the 26th.” The request, however, was not from the khedive. Rather, it was from a fellow American.

Tweed and Reef

An 1862 image of an Egyptian passenger boat, the dahabiyeh. Public Domain

Sailing along the Nile River was another American legend with the same first name: Theodore. Theodore M. Davis (1837–1915) had made his home along the Nile aboard his dahabiyeh, a two-masted yacht, which, according to Davis’s biographer, John M. Adams, “had all the opulence of his Newport mansion: a grand piano in the salon, a crystal chandelier in the dining room, a library, four bedrooms, and bathrooms with tubs. A large U.S. flag floated across the stern. The crew of twenty Nubian sailors wore matching white turbans and brown cardigans with the name of their ship—the Beduin—stitched across the chest in red.”

Davis had many powerful friends, among them Roosevelt. Roosevelt was arguably America’s greatest politician; however, he was retired. Davis was arguably America’s greatest Egyptologist, still in the thick of it.

Born in Springfield, New York, Davis began his career as a lawyer in New York City, and eventually became a financier. As was the case with most working within the “Boss” Tweed Ring, it is assumed Davis made his fortune or, at least, most of it, through unethical means. His largest return came from his investment in leasing copper mines around Lake Superior. A Congressional investigation, however, left him unscathed. In fact, Davis profited further from the Tweed Ring collapse.

By the late 1870s, Davis purchased 18 acres in Newport, Rhode Island, where he built a seaside estate called The Reef along the southern tip of Aquidneck Island. Construction of the massive estate, which included “an elegant shingle and stone clad Queen Anne villa” and “some of the most beautiful and extensive formal gardens in Newport,” lasted from 1876 to 1883. Davis and his wife, Anne Buttles Davis, along with his wife’s cousin, Emma Andrews, spent their winters in Europe and their summers at The Reef.

Entering the Valley of Kings

This is a view of a steep tomb corridor in Tomb KV43 belonging to the 18th-dynasty king Thutmose IV in the Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Egypt. eLaReF/CC BY-SA 2.0

Davis was fascinated with art and antiquities, purchasing many prominent and expensive pieces. His mansion was specifically designed to house these illustrious pieces. By 1889, he began vacationing in Egypt, which greatly expanded his antiquities dealings.

Davis found himself drawn to Luxor (ancient Thebes), where lay the Valley of the Kings, the burial place of Ancient Egyptian royalty. In 1902, the wealthy businessman became a patron for archaeological digs. Davis was enticed to the area by the chief inspector of antiquities for Upper Egypt, a young British archaeologist and Egyptologist by the name of Howard Carter. Instead of merely paying for excavations, Davis worked directly with Carter. Davis believed in Carter’s plan to locate the tomb of Thutmose IV and thus built a field house near the entrance to the Valley.

Davis and Carter’s search for the royal tomb proved successful. In 1903, Thutmose IV’s tomb was discovered, and the finds, which included shabtis (funerary figurines), throne panels, and a chariot, began a long line of discoveries sponsored by Davis. The copper magnate turned Egyptologist published an account of the Thutmose IV find in 1904, something he often did with his discoveries.

"Arm Panel From a Ceremonial Chair of Thutmose IV," circa 1400-1390 B.C). Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public Domain

The Great Benefactor

Despite their success, Davis and Carter clashed, leading Carter to put James Quibell, who had been the chief inspector of antiquities for the Delta and Middle Egypt from 1899 to 1904, in charge of Luxor. This archaeological pair, though also successful, clashed as well. Quibell was replaced by Egyptologist Arthur Weigall. Weigall, however, was not interested in excavating—and therefore British Egyptologist Edward Russell Ayrton took the position of chief inspector of antiquities for Upper Egypt in 1905. Davis and Ayrton remained together for the next several years, making important discoveries in the Valley of the Kings.

By this time, Davis had made his boat, the Beduin, one of his international homes, allowing him to move along the Nile as needed and host guests when desired. Davis had become completely dedicated to scouring the Valley of the Kings until there were no more discoveries to be had.

According to renowned Egyptologist Carl Nicholas Reeves, “The excavations financed by Davis are, by virtue of their range and extent, among the most important ever undertaken in the Valley of the Kings. Over a period of 12 years, Davis was responsible for finding and/or clearing 30 or more tombs ... several of which were and still are of great archaeological importance.”

Davis did not simply make discoveries in order to hoard and house them. He proved one of the great benefactors of art and antiquities of the 20th century, with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the British Museum in London, and the Egyptian Museum in Cairo as the most common recipients. His bequest to museums was so generous that his will was contested in an extensive court case that reached the Rhode Island Supreme Court; it ultimately upheld his bequest.

Along with the Egyptian antiquities, Davis had purchased many famous works of art, which were donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York after his death. Those paintings included Rembrandt’s “Sibyl,” van der Hayden’s “The Dutch Town,” Troyon’s “The Windmill,” Goya’s “Portrait of Maria Louise Princess of Parma,” and Bol’s “Virgin and Child.” His bequeathed collection, according to a 1927 New York Times article, was worth between $300,000 and $1 million ($5.6 to $18.6 million today).

Davis’s efforts and enthusiasm for Egyptology and the dissemination of his findings made him one of the 20th century’s most important Egyptologists, with his discoveries still viewed daily in numerous museums around the globe. His name and the discoveries he made have been somewhat overshadowed by a discovery that came nearly seven years after his death. On Nov. 4, 1922, Howard Carter, whom Davis had initially worked with, made the most impressive discovery in the Valley of the Kings when he uncovered the practically fully intact tomb of Tutankhamun.

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