Egyptomania

This volume traces the waves of Egyptian influence which swept Europe and North America from the first modern use of Egyptian themes in a painting by Poussin in 1647 to Baccarat perfume bottles shaped like Ramses, inspired by the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922. Egyptian imagery is presented in a collection of artwork spanning the Baroque to Art Deco, from ceramics by Wedgwood to jewellery by Cartier, murals by Piranesi, architectural designs by Zix, paintings by Tiepolo and furniture by Hope. In all, 350 objects are rendered in 206 colour and 630 black-and-white illustrations. They come from international museums, private lenders such as the House of Cartier, and collections from Fontainebleu, Versailles, Malmaison and Buckingham Palace. Essays by art historians from Paris, Vienna and Ottawa give detailed histories of each object and artist. An introduction, by the editors, provide an overview of Egyptomania - the artistic legacy of cultural revivals which began in the days of the Roman Empire. Their analysis shows how Egyptomania has been spurred by military conquests, scientific developments, archaeological findings, museum exhibitions and other events.
"Egyptomania" is published for a jointly organized exhibition held at the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (June 17 to September 18, 1994), the Musee du Louvre, Paris (January 20 to April 18, 1994) and the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (October 15, 1994 to January 30, 1995).