Egyptian / Egyptian Revival FURNITURE ....... Illustrated Architecture Dictionary

Egyptian / Egyptian Revival Architecture

Egyptian

Egyptian Revival

Egyptian Architecture

An ancient architecture along the Nile River from Neolithic times (3000 B.C-200 A.D.)

Egyptian Architecture - Houses

The wealthy lived in palaces or villas; the the general population lived in row houses built of sun-dried mud bricks. Huts were made of reeds with inward sloping walls and thick bases to resist the annual inundation.

Egyptian Architecture - Funerary monuments and temples

Tombs and temples reproduced the elements of domestic architecture on the grandest possible scale and in the most durable materials. Thus the bundles of papyrus stalks used as supports in mud huts were transformed into the majestic carved stone papyrus fluted columns and capitals. of the temples.

Massive funerary monuments and temples were built of stone using post-and-lintel construction, with closely spaced columns carrying the stone lintels, supporting a flat roof. A hypostyle (having a roof or ceiling supported by rolls of columns) hall, crowded with columns, received light from clerestories.

Egyptian Architecture - Features

• Pyramid
  
  
• Obelisk: A monumental, four-sided stone shaft, usually monolithic and tapering to a pyramidal tip; in Egyptian art, such a shaft mostly covered with hieroglyphs; originally erected as a cult symbol to eh sun god.
  
  
• Pylons: Monumental gateway to an Egyptian temple, consisting of a pair of tower structures with slanting walls flanking the entrance portal. Steeply battered pylons resisted earthquake shocks.
  
  
• Lotus flowers: Related to water lilies. Symbolized Upper Egypt. In 3000 B.C., King Narmer of upper Egypt defeated the ruler of Lower Egypt and established the first political dynasty to rule one unified country.
  
  
• Papyrus flowers: symbolized Lower Egypt. The intertwining of the lotus and papyrus was frequently used to represent a unified Egypt.
  • Papyrus plants, Catania, Sicily
    
    
• Palm (palmette) Palmette capital example
  
  
• Incised relief decoration without any structural relevance.
  
  
• Chevron
  
  
• Checkerboard pattern
  
  
• Griffin: Emanated protective powers
  
  
• Egyptian cornice AKA Egyptian gorge / Cavetto cornice / Gorge-and-roll cornice / Gorge cornice
  
  
• Ankh: Ancient Egyptian hieroglyph - a cross surmounted by a loop - signifying eternal life, It is found in ancient tomb inscriptions, including those of the King Tutankhamen, and gods and pharaohs are often depicted holding it. The ankh forms part of hieroglyphs for such concepts as health and happiness. Example. For more information, see Christian Resource Centre
  
  
• Winged Scarab: The ancient Egyptians adopted the scarab (dung beetle) as symbol of the sun god, Ra, because they were familiar with the sight of the beetle rolling dung on the ground, and this action suggests the invisible power that rolled the sun daily across the sky. Example.
  
  
• Animals: Often exemplified religious deities.
  
  
• Horus (hawk) / Ra (falcon): Horus is partially identified with Ra; hawks and falcons are related See Horus - Identities From the earliest dynasties, the ancient Egyptians believed that their king was divine, an incarnation of the great sky god Horus. The king ruled as the living Horus and the god was protector of the human king. This identification of king and god is represented in statuary
  
  
• Horus: Sun disk flanked by the outspread hawk wings of Horus, the sky god. Sometimes includes two uraeuses (sacred serpents). Horus was the son of Osiris and Isis. Example
  
  
• Ra: Sun god, the supreme deity represented as a man with the head of a hawk, crowned with a solar disk and uraeus
  
  
• Uraeus (you REE us): A serpent (cobra) used a the symbol of royalty in ancient Egypt and decoration. Worn by the Pharaoh as a golden emblem on the forehead as a sort of crown; it was the symbol of supreme rulers, and a symbol of Pharaohís power.
  
  
• Chalcedony scarab: Ra was also pictured as chalcedony scarab that has the body of a scarab with outstretched falcon wings, scarab forelegs, and falcon back legs.

Egyptian Architecture - Examples:

• Egyptian palm capital - British Museum, London, England
  
  
• Sphinx - British Museum, London, England
  
  
• Composite papyrus capital - Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
  
  
• Palmette capital - Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

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See also: Egyptian Revival FURNITURE Egyptian Revival Architecture The First Revival: Napoleon's Empire style - Early 19th century In France, Napoleon's Egyptian campaign of 1798 stimulated a taste for Egyptiennerie manifested in the decorative arts and a few built structures. A revival style (1830-1850) distinguished by distinctive columns and capitals and a smooth monolithic exterior finish. The Second Revival - 1920s Art Deco Substyle Egyptian motifs were taken up in the 1920s by Art Deco architects and designers. Sparked by the discovery of Tutenkhamen's tomb in 1922, the Egyptian Revival style became popular during the decade, its application to funerary art especially appropriate. Egyptian Revival style Although it was not frequently used. Egyptian Revival style seemed most appropriately applied to building projects associated with eternity and the afterlife -- churches, prisons, cemeteries. Egyptian Revival's potential for exotic, mysterious theatricality lent itself well to movie-palace design of the 1920s. Egyptian Revival Features: Battered walls Roll or rope-like moldings Bundled shaft Lotus flower capital Smooth ashlar finish providing a monumental effect reminiscent of pylons or gateways to Egyptian temples Deep cavetto or gorge-and-roll cornice (Egyptian cornice) Flat roofs generally Egyptian Revival examples in Buffalo: Illustration above: Sphinx - Gilbert Monument Obelisk - McKinley Monument Daniel Good Mausoleum Pierce Monument Cavetto cornice - 204 Allen Street