Auction: Reviving Egyptian Arts

Egypt State Information Service

Bonhams the world's fastest growing auction house decided to open January 23, 2008 anther Egyptian exhibition entitled "Reviving Egyptian Arts". The works which will include books, furniture, paintings and jewelry feature from Europe and ME will be inspired by Ancient Egyptian Art. This came as a result of the great influence of "King Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" exhibition which Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak opened on November 15, 2007.

The British Newspaper, the Times stated on 24/11/2007 that the exhibition will include hundreds of pieces. One of the mot colorful pieces is a contemporary carved wooden chair inspired by those in Tutankhamun tomb. In bright reds and blues with hieroglyphs all aver it and wings at the top; it has an estimate of $ 900. There is also a 20th-century Egyptian head cameo, set in a gold frame and covered with hieroglyphs and diamonds at $ 400.

The Times article referred to in the above SIS post can be found on Times Online:

Books, furniture, paintings and jewellery feature, including works from Europe and the Middle East. There are pieces from the Grand Tour period, which coincided with the first Egyptian Revival, to the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in the 1920s and subsequent second Egyptian Revival, all the way to the present day.

“People have been fascinated by Ancient Egypt since the Battle of the Nile between Nelson and Napoleon in 1798,” says Madeleine Perridge, of the Bonhams antiquities department.

“That was when the Rosetta stone was found. French and English scholars raced to translate the hieroglyphs on the stone. Although the French won that race, the British won the battle, which is why the Rosetta stone is here, in the British Museum. However, Napoleon had a fascination for Egypt, and in France the Empire style began utilising aspects of Egyptian design, heralding the first Egyptian Revival.

“From there it came to the UK, and the interior designer Thomas Hope fell in love with Egypt, creating interiors using sphinxes and Pharaohs’ heads. By the late 1890s the passion for all things Egyptian was stronger than ever, and when Nefertiti’s head was found, it came to define female beauty. In fact, Ancient Egypt fitted in well with Victorian sensibilities, with its ghoulishness and seances – they used to hold meetings in which they would unwrap mummies in front of the public.”

There was a further frenzy when Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb in November 1922, and the Art Deco movement, especially jewellery, utilised Egyptian design.

Bonhams, in the UK, has a website which has details of the sale location and dates and highlights.