Natacha Rambova

Born Winifred Shaughnessy in Salt Lake City, Utah into a wealthy Mormon family, this future patron and editor for Egyptian archaeology and religious texts came to her scholarly vocation by a most unusual route. First a dancer (with an assumed name better suited for the Imperial Russian Ballet) who married the Hollywood heart-throb of the 1920's, Rudolf Valentino, this talented woman, who danced, choreographed, wrote publicity and designed costumes, had been fascinated with Greek mythology since her schooldays in England. Her second husband took her to Egypt where she was totally enchanted and inspired to learn more. She studied briefly under S.R.K. Glanville in London and then, with a Mellon Grant, traveled to Egypt in 1946 to study symbols and belief systems. Her meeting with Russian Egyptologist Alexandre Piankoff led to their collaboration through the financial support, another Mellon Grant, she obtained. With Elizabeth Thomas (q.v.) work was undertaken on the richly decorated tomb of Rameses VI in the Valley of the Kings. The inscriptions on Tutankhamun' Golden Shrine were next copied. Finally the pyramid texts inside Unas pyramid were tackled. Besides editing Piankoff's English and preparing his manuscripts for publication she contributed a scholarly chapter of her own to his Mythological Papyri. She died working on a long manuscript on the myth pattern. Her collection of Egyptian artifacts were bequeathed to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.

Author of biography: Barbara S. Lesko
Includes bibliography? Yes

Download biography (in PDF format)

Keywords: Imperial Russian Ballet, Rudolf Valentino, Greek mythology,Alvaro de Urzdiz,Howard Carter, Glaanville, University College London, Guatemala, Madam Blavatsky, Mellons, scarabs, Alexandre Piankoff, funerary literature French Institute in Cairo, Rameses VI, I.E.S.. Edwards, Bollingen Foundation, Elizabeth Thomas, Valley of the Kings, Tutankhamun, golden shrines, Sakkara, Unas pyramid, Mark Hasselris, Rosalind Janssen, University of Chicago, Richard A. Parker, Brown University, Otto Neugebauer, Egyptian Astronomical Texts, Greek Zodiac, Egyptian calendar, Mythological Papyri, Rudolf Anthes, Edward Wente, Erik Hornung, William C. Hayes, Metropolitan Museum, Donald Hanson, Institute of Fine Arts of New York, Brooklyn Museum, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Philadelphia Museum of Art.