The mystery, romance and aesthetic appeal of ancient Egypt has informed richly decorated Regency homes, Victorian factories and cemeteries, Art Deco cinemas and twentieth-century houses, shops and offices.
This exhibition will explore the British fascination with all things Egyptian through evocative drawings and books owned by Soane. Decorative objects including Wedgwood ceramics, Liberty Fabrics, and an Egyptian-style Singer sewing machine demonstrate the range of ways people have brought Egypt into their homes from Soane’s time to today. The exhibition will include works by Robert Adam, Giovanni Battista Piranesi and Owen Jones.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a new work by Cairo-born artist Sara Sallam, responding to the sarcophagus of the Pharoah Seti I (d.1279BC), one of the centrepieces of the Museum’s collection. Sallam will also create a handmade, limited edition artist’s book to accompany the exhibition, A Tourist Handbook for Egypt Outside of Egypt (Volume II: London).
Image: Soane office, RA Lecture Drawing to illustrate an Egyptian temple: Perspective of the First Court of the Temple at Edfu, after Denon. Photo: Geremy Butler