Are We in the Midst of Another Egyptian Revival?

"I love cemeteries, and here, the 19th- and early-20th-century tombs felt almost like a catalogue of architectural trends of the day: Gothic Revival for the Vanderbilts, Art Deco for the Macy's owners Ida and Isidor Straus, neoclassical for industrialist John Warne Gates. Most memorable for me was the mausoleum of department store mogul F. W. Woolworth, realized in 1920 by architect John Russell Pope in the Egyptian Revival style. Think: hieroglyphic-lined pillars and an entrance flanked by two sphinxes."

"His later-published findings would inspire many of the motifs-sphinxes, winged creatures, urns, lotus flowers, and laurel wreaths-that appeared in the emergent Empire-style furniture and architecture. This continued interest is likely what inspired Woolworth's theme-y resting place, just a few years before the next resurgence came in 1922, when furniture, clothing, and jewelry extracted from Tut's densely packed tomb dazzled the public once again."

Woodlawn Cemetery's 19th- and early-20th-century tombs reflect prevailing architectural styles such as Gothic Revival, Art Deco, and neoclassical. F. W. Woolworth's 1920 mausoleum adopts an Egyptian Revival vocabulary with hieroglyphic-lined pillars and sphinx guardians. European Egyptomania originated after Napoleon's 1798 campaign and its documentation, producing motifs like sphinxes, winged creatures, urns, lotus flowers, and laurel wreaths used in Empire-style decorative arts. The 1922 discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb reignited popular devotion to Egyptian imagery, influencing Art Deco and consumer design. The recurring enthusiasm for ancient Egyptian forms often overlapped with colonialist appropriation of North African cultural heritage.

Read at Architectural Digest