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2023-12-31-accounts

The Friends of the Petrie Museum

Trustees’ Annual Report

for the period

1 January – 31 December 2023

Charity Registration Number: 1192201

The trustees present their annual report and financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2023. The report has been prepared in accordance with The Charity Commission’s Statement of Recommended Practice including its guidance on the application of the required Financial Reporting Standard (FRS 102) .

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The Friends of the Petrie Museum

1. Objectives and Activities

a. Overview

The object of The Friends of the Petrie Museum (PMF) is to further public education about, and understanding of, the history, archaeology and culture of the Nile Valley and surrounding regions. This is done through support to University College, London’s (UCL) Petrie Museum of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology, in particular by:

The PMF fulfils its charitable purposes for public benefit through a range of activities:

b. Charity Commission Guidance

The trustees confirm that they have referred to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit when reviewing the Friends’ aims and objectives, in planning activities, and setting the grant making policy.

c. Grant Making Policy

The trustees invite proposals from individuals and organisations, and these proposals must include a range of information set out in our guidance on applications.

When making decisions on the award of grants, we consider whether the proposed plan:

We expect each proposed project to be identified as a priority in the strategic plan of the applicant organisation. We are also able to consider support for short-notice interventions, for example to repair damage, or to prepare an item for exhibition, as long as the criteria set out above are met to the greatest degree possible.

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The Friends of the Petrie Museum

2. PMF Board

a. Chair

At the Annual General Meeting on 7 June 2023, Dr Joanne Rowland became Chair of the PMF. Her association with the Friends of the Petrie Museum, both as a Friend and Committee member, began during her BA, and continued through her MA and PhD degrees at UCL (1993-2004). She has remained a Friend as her career has taken her to teaching/research roles at Oxford, Brussels, Berlin, and Edinburgh. As noted in Section 3c below, she undertakes extensive fieldwork in Egypt, with a current focus on the Naqada region. In all aspects of her involvement in the PMF, she draws on thorough knowledge of the Petrie collection.

The AGM also offered an opportunity to celebrate the enormous contribution to the PMF of the outgoing Chair, Lucia Gahlin, and the former Secretary and Treasurer, Jan Picton. Part of the tribute paid to Lucia Gahlin by Catriona Wilson (Head of Petrie Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology Collection) is reprinted below.

b. New Trustees

Four new trustees were approved for appointment at the AGM: Max Chesnokov Neil Robson Paulina Wandowicz Maiken Mosleth-King

c. Modified Roles

Following a review, it was decided in November 2023 to redefine the roles of Secretary and Treasurer to create more manageable ranges of responsibilities. The new roles are themselves subject to further review but are designated Membership Secretary and Treasurer, and Secretary to the Board.

Catriona Wilson’s Tribute to Lucia Gahlin at the AGM (abridged)

It seems almost ridiculous that I should be the one to stand here and say thank you to Lucia on behalf of the Museum. I have been at UCL barely ten minutes in comparison to Lucia and to all of you. What can I possibly know or understand of the work she has done here? I am, however, deeply honoured to be given this task, just as I have been honoured to work with Lucia for the past four years.

I have valued every single interaction I have had with Lucia – I value her integrity and her astonishing capacity for bringing people together in a spirit of positive collaboration, even when things are hard – perhaps most of all when things are hard. I value Lucia for her bright, sparkling joyfulness and for her unceasing kindness. Thank you, Lucia, for always being the sunshine in my week whenever we have met.

From the bottom of our hearts and the far recesses of every drawer, cupboard and display case in the Museum – thank you, Lucia, for all you have done and continue to do for this miraculous collection. You have been (and I am sure will continue to be – there is no escape!) such a force for good. The Museum is forever indebted to you.

3. Achievements and Performance

a. Public Benefits

The benefits of the Friends’ activities lie in:

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The Friends of the Petrie Museum

b. Lectures and other Events

Lectures

A full programme of lectures was successfully delivered in 2023, with a wide range of topics covered including a re-examination of the Oratory of Ptah and Mertseger, the Amarna exhibition at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, and Music in Ancient Egypt. Just one lecture had to be postponed – Tut on Tour: 60-years of Demand Creation Through Exhibition – which was later given by Summer Austin as part of the 2023-2024 series.

Hybrid lectures have continued to be the dominant mode of delivery. These allow for the more personal contact of an organisation founded on the notion of Friendship (to the Petrie Museum but also between members) while nevertheless continuing to appeal to, and benefit, a broader national and international audience. After feedback on the 2022-2023 lecture series, the decision was taken to revert to Fridays as the principal day for the lectures, and this seems to have been generally welcomed.

Some issues noted last year, notably quite low in-person attendance and a reduced number of trustees who live sufficiently in reach of UCL to host events, persist. The Board continues to keep the situation under review, with the format of lectures possibly being a subject to be explored further with members.

Lecture and Reception

In a special event held on 10 November 2023, the PMF explored and celebrated the enormous contribution of Fatima Rushdi and Aziz Eid to the development of Egyptian cinema and theatre.

A lecture given by Dr Marlé Hammond (Senior Lecturer in Arabic Popular Literature and Culture at the School of Oriental and African Studies) was followed by a reception in the Petrie Museum. In the course of the evening, Monica Janssens, granddaughter of the Egyptian couple, and Lucia Gahlin read extracts from the memoirs of Aziza Eid, the couple’s daughter.

Study Days in Bristol (22 April 2023) and Manchester (22 June 2023)

Lucia Gahlin led two study days that were exclusive to PMF members.

In Bristol, the day began with a lecture by Lucia entitled Sarah Belzoni, Amelia Edwards and the History of the Bristol Collection . This showed the decisive impact of both women in enabling collections to be founded and developed – in the case of Sarah Belzoni, in Bristol; in that of Amelia Edwards, in Bristol Museum and in London at the Petrie Museum. Members were then given an in-depth tour of Bristol’s galleries, which are organised thematically under the headings of Belief, Life, Death and Afterlife.

In Manchester, Lucia Gahlin explained the close connection between the Petrie and Manchester Museum through funding given to Petrie by the British cotton magnate Jesse Haworth. Later, the Curator of the Egypt and Sudan collection, Dr Campbell Price, set out the rationale underpinning the splendid Golden Mummies exhibition as well as hosting a behind-the-scenes visit to Manchester’s storerooms.

Both days were greatly enjoyed by attendees, with reports on each published on the PMF website. Thanks are due to Lucia Gahlin for organising both study days, proceeds of which will benefit the Petrie Museum.

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The Friends of the Petrie Museum

c. Grants

Tutankhamun the boy: growing up in ancient Egypt

This project was funded by the PMF, together with the Museums Association’s Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund. It explored less well-known aspects of Tutankhamun’s life as a young boy as well as the lives of other ancient Egyptian children.

In 2023, a refreshed display followed workshops held in Amarna and addressed questions that Egyptian children wanted to ask Tutankhamun and other children from ancient Egypt about their lives. Themes included learning adult skills, growing-up and adornment. The display text was reworked, with children’s questions expressed in both Arabic and English.

Further work was undertaken in Amarna in June 2023. This was based in part on five additional 3D prints (produced by ThinkSee3D) to add to the five which were donated to the Visitor Centre in November 2022.

In September, TutFest celebrated everything project staff and their Year 3 partners from the George Mitchell Primary School, London had learnt about the early life of Tutankhamun and childhood in ancient Egypt. In the same month, a Co-production Skills Exchange brought together colleagues from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities at Amarna with Egyptology professionals from across the UK to share ideas around co-production and object-based learning.

Subsequent external evaluation highlighted the many achievements of the project including its positive impact on participants of all ages and backgrounds. It has placed the Petrie Museum at the centre of aspects of partnership working in Egypt.

Research, Conservation and Heritage Management at Nubt (Petrie’s Naqada Site) and at other sites in the Naqada Region, Upper Egypt [report kindly provided by Deputy Project Director, Dr Joanne Rowland, with excerpts from a report written by Antonio Reis]

December 2023 saw a successful season related to this second PMF-funded period of work. We welcomed for the first time Antonio Reis, as well as Max Chesnokov, both joining us from UCL, and Helena Jaeschke from Museum Development Southwest. Archaeological support was, as ever, provided by Rais Omer Farouk and his team from Quft, and Joris van Wetering, archaeologist, was present throughout. We are grateful for the support of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (MoTA) Qena (including our inspector, Adel Mohamed Essam) and MoTA Cairo.

The PMF funded work focused on close-range digital photogrammetry, and the first steps in the conservation of the 3[rd] Dynasty pyramid at Nubt. Antonio Reis conducted a detailed photogrammetry image of the entire pyramid, with images taken with a handheld camera as well as a camera mounted on a 3m pole. All photography was taken in raw format for the Pyramid and .jpeg for the remaining sites. The data was pre-processed for colour calibration and to minimise the vignetting effect. The pre-processed images were exported in JPG format and then introduced into the photogrammetry. The initial processing was done during fieldwork each evening in the camp to check coverage and image quality. Final processing was done in the UCL Photographic Laboratory in London. A fully 3-D image is privately accessible through Sketchfab.com to the team. The processing approach used 3D photogrammetry (in this case, structure from motion) software to create a 3D digital surface model of the areas surveyed. Aerial photos (oblique and vertical imagery) and ground control data enabled calibrated and referenced 3D models.

In addition to the imaging of the pyramid, preliminary imaging surveys were undertaken in the temple area as well as the tumuli and Cemetery T and Cemetery T South. All datasets were based on ground terrestrial photogrammetry using a digital camera or the laser scanner of an iPhone 14 Pro Max. The Pyramid was surveyed with a DSLR camera; for the tumuli and the temple, a Gopro camera was used.

For the pyramid, a test-case area for future cleaning was established and work was carried out under Helena Jaeschke’s supervision. The team selected an area on the south-eastern corner of the pyramid (1-1.2m wide and 6m top to base) and cleared the stones of loose sand and debris, leaving in place the concreted/hardened

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The Friends of the Petrie Museum

deposits, and the packing material. The latter will always remain where it is, but the concreted sand will be removed later. Another aspect of the work was to delineate the original base outline of the stone blocks of the pyramid, for which a small excavation trench was opened on the eastern face of the pyramid. A number of loose stone blocks were removed that overlay the trench l, with the purpose of ascertaining the amount of debris lying on the pyramid’s original surface in order to aid planning an approach to cleaning the pyramid and safeguarding its structural integrity. There is a huge amount of debris from spoil from previous excavations (e.g. Petrie in 1894-95) and, probably, from tomb robbery, possibly during the New Kingdom.

Feedback concerning the information panel for the temple area at Nubt has been received from MoTA. Final changes will be addressed, and the panel should be printed during the season at the site scheduled for MayJune 2024.

The results of the 2022 geophysical survey (funded by the previous PMF grant) featured in Issue 55 (2022-23) of the Friends of the Petrie Museum Magazine in an article by Jo Rowland and Joris van Wetering. This includes an overview of the areas of Nubt and challenges faced in the survey, together with preliminary interpretation of geophysical results by Dom Barker. The geophysical survey work will continue in December 2024. It was originally planned for the 2023 winter season but the need to repair equipment meant this was not possible.

Statuary from Royal Buildings at Amarna

As noted in previous reports, this grant will support a landmark in Amarna publications: a major Egypt Exploration Society 2-volume set written by Marsha Hill and Kristin Thompson focused on statuary with known, or strongly suspected, provenance at Akhetaten, the capital city founded by the pharaoh, Akhenaten. A significant number of items from the Petrie Museum collection will be included. At the time of writing, publication is scheduled for May 2024.

4. Communications

a. Website

In 2023, the website continued to serve as a hub for upcoming events, supplementary documents (such as the Book Auction list, art catalogues, and lecture handouts), and more general information about the Friends of the Petrie Museum. We are now able to look at the next phase of development, which includes the establishment of an exclusive Members’ Area and digital content archives.

b. Social Media

The PMF has continued to maintain a high level of activity in social media, with regular updates on Facebook and Twitter (now known as X). In addition, a new Instagram account has been established. Communication is not only with members but also subscribers nationally and internationally. By the end of 2023, the numbers of followers were for Facebook: 31,000; X: 3,725; Instagram: 6.

c. Magazine

The annual PMF magazine was published in December 2023 and was accompanied by some supplementary maps and other material posted on the website.

5. Financial Review

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The Friends of the Petrie Museum

The Trustees expect a decline in membership in the next financial year due to challenging economic conditions and as patterns of use of membership benefits change following the end of the global pandemic. The Trustees will continue to work to ensure the Charity is resilient in the long-term and adapts to the changing conditions.

Reserves

Our assets at the end of 2023 stood at £281,984. The Friends of the Petrie Museum have ongoing commitments to the funding of grants as outlined above and listed below, including a substantial grant to the Petrie Museum for the Excavating the Petrie Museum Archive project. Also, it has long been acknowledged that the Museum’s accommodation does not do justice to the collection or adequately facilitate research and related activity. The major part of the reserves (following grant allocations, £150,000 in 2020; £128,160 in 2021; £137,926 in 2022) is, and will continue to be, retained to support UCL should its own ongoing evaluations and structural reviews result in appropriately ambitious plans to ameliorate provision for the Museum. It has long been the Friends’ intention to sponsor a research space/library within a new Petrie Museum. The remainder of the reserves will support our charitable aims and grants already approved.

Projected funding commitment of the reserves

Projected funding commitment of the reserves
Institute of Archaeology library public access project c/f 2024 £10,000
PMF projected operating costs £25,000
Petrie Museum project ‘Excavating the Petrie Museum Archive’ £28,847
Petrie Museum project ‘Cartonnage conservation and re-housing’ £5,548
Future museum funding commitments c/f £212,589
£281,984

6. Structure, Governance and Management

The Friends of the Petrie Museum was registered as a charity, number 1192201, on 6 November 2020 using a Constitution of a Charitable Incorporated Organisation with voting members other than its charity trustees.

The Constitution provides for a minimum of three and a maximum of ten trustees. New trustees are elected by the members, and normally serve for three years, after which they may put themselves forward for re-election. The trustees usually meet four to six times each year. Reasonable travel expenses for attendance are reimbursed if requested.

The trustees seek to follow relevant Charity Commission guidance. They keep the skills and composition of the Board under review. New trustees sign a trustee declaration. A set of key documents required for the induction of new trustees has been developed.

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The Friends of the Petrie Museum

7. Reference and Administrative information

Charity name

The Friends of the Petrie Museum

Registered charity number

1192201

Principal address

The Petrie Museum of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology, Malet Place, London WC1E 6BT

Trustees

Dr Joanne Rowland, Chair of Trustees (from 30 July 2021) Max Chesnokov (from 7 June 2023) Janet Johnstone (from 6 November 2020) Maiken Mosleth-King (co-opted 10 June 2022; appointed from 7 June 2023) Dr Hannah Pethen (from 6 November 2020) Dr Kathryn Piquette (from 10 June 2022) Neil Robson (from 7 June 2023) Paulina Wandowicz (from 7 June 2023) Dr Chloe Ward (from 6 November 2020) Robert Whatmough (from 30 July 2021)

Jan Picton kindly continued to undertake the role of Treasurer during the handover period to 30 August 2023. While the role of Treasurer was then performed in the main by Paulina Wandowicz, we wish also to acknowledge with gratitude the involvement and support of Jan Picton in the remainder of the year as preparations were made for the handover of banking arrangements and transfer of our account to Royal Bank of Scotland.

Bankers

Royal Bank of Scotland, 171 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 7DL

Auditor / Independent Examiner

Griffin Chartered Accountants, 52 High Street, Honiton, Devon, EX14 1PQ

Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees:

Signature(s) Full name(s) Dr Joanne Mary Rowland Position: Chair

Date 07/02/2024

8

Friends of the Petrie Museum
Charity Name
Friends of the Petrie Museum
Charity Name
Friends of the Petrie Museum
Charity Name
1192201
No (if any)
1192201
No (if any)
1192201
No (if any)
CC16a
For the period
from
01-Jan-23
Period start date
To 31-Dec-23
Period end date
Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts Unrestricted
funds
to the nearest £
13,600
7,761
2,102
5,565
40
150
86,739
-

115,957
-
-

-
115,957
6,466
3,708
1,201
607
382
636
300
11,610
7,253
3,000
35,163
-
-
-
35,163
80,794
-
201,190
281,984
Restricted
funds
to the nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Endowment
funds
to the nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Total funds
to the nearest £
13,600
7,761
2,102
5,565
40
150
86,739
-
115,957
-
-
-
115,957
6,466
3,708
1,201
607
382
636
300
11,610
7,253
3,000
35,163
-
-
-
35,163
80,794
Last year
to the nearest £
Subscriptions 13,600 16,369
Donations 7,761 5,862
Courses / studydays 2,102 1,948
Book auction 5,565 6,508
Nubian memoir 40 655
Interest income 150 -
Legacy 86,739 -
- -
Sub total(Gross income for
AR)

115,957
31,342
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
-
- -
Sub total
-
-
Total receipts
A3 Payments
31,342

Administrative costs
6,466 4,651
Magazine and mailing 3,708 3,436
Lectures and events 1,201 1,618
Studyday/ course costs 607 1,000
Zoom fees 382 423
Auction costs 636 319
Donation to Manchester Museum 300 -
Petrie Museum Tutankhamun Project 11,610 35,000
Nubt Project 7,253 6,865
Amarna Project 3,000 -
Sub total 35,163 53,312
A4 Asset and investment
purchases (see table)
, -
-
Sub total - -
Total payments
Net of receipts/(payments)
A5 Transfers between funds
A6 Cash funds last year end
Cash funds this year end
53,312
80,794 - - 80,794 -
21,970
- - - - -
201,190 - - 201,190 223,160
281,984 - - 281,984 201,190

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

30/05/2024

1

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Categories
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees
B1 Cash funds
B2 Other monetary assets
B4 Assets retained for the
charity’s own use
B5 Liabilities
B3 Investment assets
Signature
Details
Details
Bank Balance
Details
Details
Total cash funds
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
Details
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
to nearest £
to nearest £
281,984
-
-
-
-
-
281,984
-
OK
OK
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
to nearest £
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fund to which
asset belongs
Cost (optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Fund to which
asset belongs
Cost (optional)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fund to which
liability relates
Amount due
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Print Name
Joanne Rowland
Endowment
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
OK
Endowment
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
When due
(optional)
Date ofapproval
Joanne Rowland 07/02/2024

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)

30/05/2024

2

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

THE FRIENDS OF THE PETRIE MUSEUM

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE FRIENDS OF THE PETRIE MUSEUM

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the period ended 31 December 2023.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND BASIS OF REPORT

As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act'). I report in respect of my examination of the charity's accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S STATEMENT

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

  3. the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view’ which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed:

Laura Waycott FCA Griffin Chartered Accountants Courtenay House Pynes Hill Exeter EX2 5AZ

Dated: 26/7/24