Jane Dieulafoy

Jane Dieulafoy
Jane Dieulafoy, ca. 1895
Born	June 29, 1851 Toulouse, France
Died	May 25, 1916(1916-05-25) (aged 64) Haute-Garonne, France
Other names	Madame Dieulafoy, Jeanne Dieulafoy, Jeanne Henriette Magre
Academic work
Main interests	Middle East, Persia
Notable works	First French excavations at Susa

Jane Dieulafoy (29 June 1851 – 25 May 1916) was a French archaeologist, explorer, novelist and journalist. She was the wife of Marcel-Auguste Dieulafoy. Together with her husband, she is known for her excavations at Susa.

Jane Dieulafoy was born Jeanne Henriette Magre to a wealthy family in Toulouse, France. She studied at the Couvent de l’Assomption d’Auteuil in a suburb of Paris from 1862 to 1870. She married Marcel Dieulafoy in May 1870, at the age of 19. That same year, the Franco-Prussian War began. Marcel volunteered, and was sent to the front. Jane accompanied him, wearing a soldier's uniform and fighting by his side.

With the end of the war, Marcel was employed by the Midi railways, but during the next ten years the Dieulafoys would travel in Egypt and Morocco for archaeological and exploration work. Jane did not keep a record of these journeys. Marcel became increasingly interested in the relationship between Oriental and Western architecture, and in 1879 decided to devote himself to archaeology.

The Dieulafoys first visited Persia in 1881, and would return twice after that. The first journey to Persia was by freighter from Marseilles to Constantinople, by a Russian boat to Poti on the east coast of the Black Sea, and then across the Caucasus and via Azerbaijan to Tabriz. From there they travelled widely through Persia, to Tehran, Esfahan and Shiraz. Jane Dieulafoy documented the pair's explorations in photographs, illustrations, and writing. She took daily notes during her travels, which were later published in two volumes.

At Susa, the couple found numerous artifacts and friezes, several of which were shipped back to France. One such find is the famous Lion Frieze on display at the Louvre. Two rooms in the museum contain artefacts brought back by the Dieulafoy missions. For her contributions, the French government conferred upon her the title of Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 1886.