Agnès Spycket
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Agnès Spycket (1 September 1921 – 17 January 2022) was a French
Assyriologist Assyriology (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ''Assyriā''; and , ''-logy, -logia''), also known as Cuneiform studies or Ancient Near East studies, is the archaeological, anthropological, historical, and linguistic study of the cultures that used cune ...
, iconologist, and
archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
.


Biography

Spycket was born on 1 September 1921 in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. After being "captivated" by
Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...
n bulls at the
Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
at the age of 19, she pursued studies at the Catholic University of Paris, followed by EPHE (École Pratique des Hautes Études), and the
École du Louvre The École du Louvre () is a selective institution of higher education and prestigious ''grande école'' located in the Aile de Flore of the Louvre Palace in Paris, France. It is dedicated to the study of archaeology, art history, anthropology ...
. There, she learned
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
, Akkadian, and Sumerian. She presented her thesis titled "''La coiffure féminine en Mésopotamie''" (Women's Hairstyles in Mesopotamia) under the guidance of
Georges Contenau Georges Contenau (April 9, 1877 – March 22, 1964) was a French archeologist, curator, orientalist and religious historian who was an expert in the field of culture and religion of the ancient civilizations of the Near and Middle East. Life Con ...
and
André Parrot André Charles Ulrich Parrot (15 February 1901 – 24 August 1980) was a French archaeologist specializing in the ancient Near East. He led excavations in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria, and is best known for his work at Mari, Syria, where he led imp ...
in 1946. Later, she undertook a dissertation at EPHE titled "''La statue de culte en Mésopotamie''" (Cult Statues in Mesopotamia). However, she only presented it twenty years later with the assistance of
Roland de Vaux Roland Guérin de Vaux (17 December 1903 – 10 September 1971) was a French Dominican priest who led the Catholic team that initially worked on the Dead Sea Scrolls. He was the director of the École Biblique, a French Catholic Theological S ...
, overcoming numerous obstacles in her academic career due to gender-related challenges. Simultaneously, she started as a mission officer within the Department of Oriental Antiquities at the Louvre in 1945. At the same time, she joined the
CNRS The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 eng ...
(National Center for Scientific Research) as a technical associate under Édouard Dhorme and René Labat. She was also in link with another female assyriologist of that time,
Jeanne-Marie Aynard Jeanne-Marie Aynard, sometimes nicknamed Sam, born in Paris on September 19, 1907, and died in Laxou on January 24, 2002, was a French Assyriologist and philologist. Biography She was born into a bourgeois Parisian family on September 19, 1907. ...
, with whom she worked. Spycket actively participated in numerous excavations. In 1962–1963, she conducted excavations in
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
with
Roland de Vaux Roland Guérin de Vaux (17 December 1903 – 10 September 1971) was a French Dominican priest who led the Catholic team that initially worked on the Dead Sea Scrolls. He was the director of the École Biblique, a French Catholic Theological S ...
. Subsequently, she excavated at
Susa Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh River, Karkheh and Dez River, Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital o ...
with
Roman Ghirshman Roman Ghirshman (, ''Roman Mikhailovich Girshman''; October 3, 1895 – 5 September 1979) was a Ukrainian-born French archeologist who specialized in ancient Persia. Ghirshman spent nearly thirty years excavating ancient Persian archeologic ...
from 1964 to 1966, and at
Tell Keisan Tell Keisan, تل كيسان (Arabic name meaning "the mound of treachery" ) or Tel Kisson, תל כיסון (Hebrew name), is an archaeological site located from the Mediterranean coast in the Galilee region of Israel between Haifa and Akko.Bruce ...
with Roland de Vaux in the 1970s. She also played a role in organizing and conducting excavations in places like
Isin Isin (, modern Arabic language, Arabic: Ishan al-Bahriyat) is an archaeological site in Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq which was the location of the Ancient Near East city of Isin, occupied from the late 4th millennium Uruk period up until at ...
, Sirkeli, and
Terqa Terqa is an ancient city discovered at the site of Tell Ashara on the banks of the middle Euphrates in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria, approximately from the modern border with Iraq and north of the ancient site of Mari, Syria. Its name had b ...
.
Roman Ghirshman Roman Ghirshman (, ''Roman Mikhailovich Girshman''; October 3, 1895 – 5 September 1979) was a Ukrainian-born French archeologist who specialized in ancient Persia. Ghirshman spent nearly thirty years excavating ancient Persian archeologic ...
, who worked with her on excavations, described her as particularly "sagacious". Despite the challenges she faced in her career as a woman, Spycket received support from some friends and colleagues, including
André Parrot André Charles Ulrich Parrot (15 February 1901 – 24 August 1980) was a French archaeologist specializing in the ancient Near East. He led excavations in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria, and is best known for his work at Mari, Syria, where he led imp ...
. Among others, he advocated for her to receive the
Order of Arts and Letters The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...
, declaring it to be :In 1982, she was honoured with the
CNRS Silver Medal The CNRS Silver Medal is a scientific award given every year to about fifteen researchers by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). It is awarded to a researcher for "the originality, quality and importance of their work, re ...
for her contributions to
Assyriology Assyriology (from Greek , ''Assyriā''; and , ''-logia''), also known as Cuneiform studies or Ancient Near East studies, is the archaeological, anthropological, historical, and linguistic study of the cultures that used cuneiform writing. The fie ...
and
iconology Iconology is a method of interpretation in cultural history and the history of the visual arts used by Aby Warburg, Erwin Panofsky and their followers that uncovers the cultural, social, and historical background of themes and subjects in the visu ...
. Spycket died on 17 January 2022, and was buried after a ceremony at the church of Sainte-Trinité, Paris.


Legacy

In 1996, a collective work paid tribute to Agnès Spycket, expressing gratitude for her contribution to the understanding of the
ancient Near East The ancient Near East was home to many cradles of civilization, spanning Mesopotamia, Egypt, Iran (or Persia), Anatolia and the Armenian highlands, the Levant, and the Arabian Peninsula. As such, the fields of ancient Near East studies and Nea ...
.


Decorations

*
CNRS Silver Medal The CNRS Silver Medal is a scientific award given every year to about fifteen researchers by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). It is awarded to a researcher for "the originality, quality and importance of their work, re ...
(France) * Knight of the
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...
(France)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spycket, Agnès 1921 births 2022 deaths People from Paris French Assyriologists French historians of religion 21st-century French women scientists 20th-century French women scientists French National Centre for Scientific Research awards Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres 20th-century French archaeologists French women archaeologists French women historians French women centenarians