Egyptian Revival
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Egyptian Revival is an
architectural style An architectural style is a classification of buildings (and nonbuilding structures) based on a set of characteristics and features, including overall appearance, arrangement of the components, method of construction, building materials used, for ...
that uses the motifs and imagery of
ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...
. It is attributed generally to the public awareness of ancient Egyptian monuments generated by
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
's invasion of Egypt in 1798, and Admiral Nelson's defeat of the
French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...
at the
Battle of the Nile The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; ) was fought between the Royal Navy and the French Navy at Abu Qir Bay, Aboukir Bay in Ottoman Egypt, Egypt between 1–3 August 1798. It was the climax of the Mediterranean ca ...
later that year. Napoleon took a scientific expedition with him to Egypt. Publication of the expedition's work, the '' Description de l'Égypte'', began in 1809 and was published as a series through 1826. The size and monumentality of the façades discovered during his adventure cemented the hold of Egyptian aesthetics on the Parisian elite. However, works of art and architecture (such as funerary monuments) in the Egyptian style had been made or built occasionally on the European continent since the time of the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
.


History


Egyptian influence before Napoleon

Much of the early knowledge about ancient Egyptian arts and architecture was filtered through the lens of the Classical world, including ancient Rome. Prior to
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
's influence an early example is the
Obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...
of
Domitian Domitian ( ; ; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a r ...
, erected in 1651 by
Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, ; ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 1598 – 28 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor ...
on top of the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi in
Piazza Navona Piazza Navona () is a public open space in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the 1st century AD Stadium of Domitian and follows the form of the open space of the stadium in an elongated oval. The ancient Romans went there to watch the '' a ...
,
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, which went on to inspire several Egyptian obelisks constructed in Ireland during the early 18th century. It influenced the obelisk constructed as a family funeral memorial by Sir
Edward Lovett Pearce Edward Lovett Pearce (1699 – 7 December 1733) was an Irish architect, and the chief exponent of Palladianism in Ireland. He is thought to have initially studied as an architect under his father's first cousin, Sir John Vanbrugh. He is best ...
for the Allen family at
Stillorgan Stillorgan (, also and previously or ), formerly a village in its own right, is now a suburban area of Dublin in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Stillorgan is located in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, and contains many housing estates, shops and oth ...
in Ireland in 1717, one of several Egyptian obelisks erected in Ireland during the early 18th century. Others may be found at Belan,
County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...
; and Dangan, County Meath. Conolly's Folly in County Kildare is probably the best known, albeit the least Egyptian-styled. Egyptian buildings had also been built as garden follies. The most elaborate was probably the one built by Duke Frederick I of Württemberg in the gardens of the
Château de Montbéliard The Château de Montbéliard (Montbeliard Castle), also known as the Château des ducs de Württemberg (Castle of the Dukes of Württemberg) is a fortress located on an outcropping rock that overlooks the town of Montbéliard in the Doubs ''dé ...
. It included an Egyptian bridge across which guests walked to reach an island with an elaborate Egyptian-influenced bath house. Designed by Jean-Baptiste Kléber, later French commander in Egypt, the building had a billiards room and a
bagnio Bagnio is a loan word into several languages (from ). In English, French, and so on, it has developed varying meanings: typically a brothel, bath-house, or prison for slaves. In reference to the Ottoman Empire The origin of this sense seems to ...
. During the 2nd half of the 18th century, with the rise of
Neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...
, sometimes architects mixed the
Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
,
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
and
Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...
styles. They wanted to discover new shape and ornament ideas, rather than to be just faithful copyists of the past. Cimetière anglais de Rome.jpg, Pyramid of Cestius, Rome, by Gaius Cestius, 12 BC Cathedral (Vicenza) - Interior - Monument to Lavinia Thiene by Giulio Romano.jpg,
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
monument to Lavinia Thiene, with an Egyptian-inspired pyramid on it, Vicenza Cathedral,
Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...
, Italy, by Giulio Romano, 1544 Adlerbergska gravkoret, Järfälla kyrka, 2014b.jpg, Pyramid grave, churchyard in Järfälla,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, unknown architect, 18th century Piranesi - Caffè degli Inglesi 02.jpg, ''Mural decoration for the Caffè degli Inglesi, Piazza di Spagna, Rome'',
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
, New York City, by
Giovanni Battista Piranesi Giovanni Battista (or Giambattista) Piranesi (; also known as simply Piranesi; 4 October 1720 – 9 November 1778) was an Italian classical archaeologist, architect, and artist, famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious and atmospheric " ...
, 1769 Parc Monceau 20060812 03.jpg, Pyramid in the gardens of Parc Monceau, Paris, unknown architect, 1778 Boullée - Cénotaphe égyptien - élévation.jpg, ''Cenotaph in Egyptian Style'',
Bibliothèque Nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...
, Paris, by Étienne-Louis Boullée, 1786 Pyramide3.jpg, Pyramid used as a cold store, New Garden, Potsdam, Germany, by Andreas Ludwig Krüger, 1791-1792 Project to transform the Panthéon, by Charles de Wailly, 1797.jpg, Project to transform the
Panthéon The Panthéon (, ), is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, Paris, Latin Quarter (Quartier latin), atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was built between 1758 ...
, by Charles de Wailly, 1797 Wien Augustinerkirche Kenotaph Maria Christina 1.jpg, Cenotaph of Archduchess Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen,
Augustinian Church, Vienna The Augustinian Church () in Vienna is a parish church located on Josefsplatz, next to the Hofburg, the winter palace of the Habsburg dynasty in Vienna. Originally built in the 14th century as the parish church of the imperial court of the Habsb ...
,
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, by
Antonio Canova Antonio Canova (; 1 November 1757 – 13 October 1822) was an Italians, Italian Neoclassical sculpture, Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists,. his sculpture was ins ...
, 1798–1805 2 Place du Caire, Paris (07).jpg, Passage du Caire ( Place du Caire no. 2), Paris, by Philippe-Laurent Prétrel, 1798 Elysium, by Louis-Sylvestre Gasse, 1799, Bibliothèque de l'École nationale supérieure des Arts décoratifs, Paris.jpg, Design for the Elysium, by Louis-Sylvestre Gasse, 1799


Napoleonic and Post-Napoleonic eras

New after the Napoleonic invasion was a sudden increase of the number of works of art and the fact that, for the first time, entire buildings began to be built to resemble those of ancient Egypt. In France and Britain this was at least partially inspired by successful war campaigns undertaken by each country while in Egypt. For Napoleon's intention of cataloguing the sights and findings from the campaign, hundreds of artists and scientists were enlisted to document "antiquities, ethnography, architecture, and natural history of Egypt"; and later these notes and sketches were taken back to Europe. In 1803, the compilation of " Description de l'Égypte" was started based on these documents and lasted over twenty years. The content in this archaeological text, includes translation of the
Rosetta Stone The Rosetta Stone is a stele of granodiorite inscribed with three versions of a Rosetta Stone decree, decree issued in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty of ancient Egypt, Egypt, on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes. The top and middle texts ...
, pyramids and other scenes, arouse interests in Egyptian arts and culture in Europe and America. According to James Stevens Curl, people started to present their imaginations about Egypt in various ways. First, combinations of crocodiles, pyramids, mummies, sphinxes, and other motifs were widely circulated. In 1800, an Egyptian opera festival was staged in
Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the boundary between the Covent Garden and Holborn areas of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of London Borough of Camden, Camden and the southern part in the City o ...
, London, with Egyptian-themed sets and costumes. On the other hand, William Capon (1757–1827) suggested a massive pyramid for Shooter's Hill as a National Monument, while George Smith (1783–1869) designed an Egyptian-style tomb for
Ralph Abercromby Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, (7 October 173428 March 1801) was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Trinidad in 1797. Rising to the rank ...
in
Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
. According to David Brownlee, the 1798 Karlsruhe Synagogue, an early building by the influential Friedrich Weinbrenner was "the first large Egyptian building to be erected since antiquity." According to
Diana Muir Diana Muir, also known as Diana Muir Appelbaum, is an American historian from Newton, Massachusetts, best known for her 2000 book, ''Reflections in Bullough's Pond'', a history of the impact of human activity on the New England ecosystem. Perso ...
, it was "the first public building (that is, not a folly, stage set, or funeral monument) in the Egyptian revival style." The ancient Egyptian influence was mainly shown in the two large engaged pylons flanking the entrance; otherwise the windows and entrance of the central section were pointed arches, and the overall plan conventional, with
Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...
details. Among the earliest monuments of the Egyptian Revival in Paris is the Fontaine du Fellah, built in 1806. It was designed by François-Jean Bralle. A well-documented example, destroyed after Napoleon was deposed, was the monument to General Louis Desaix in the
Place des Victoires The Place des Victoires (; English: Victory Square, 'Square of Victories') is a circular Town square, square in central Paris, located a short distance northeast of the Palais-Royal and straddling the border between the 1st arrondissement of Pari ...
was built in 1810. It featured a nude statue of the general and an obelisk, both set upon an Egyptian Revival base. Another example of a still standing site of Egyptian Revival is the Egyptian Gate of Tsarskoe Selo, built in 1829. A street or passage named the Place du Caire or Foire du Caire (Fair of Cairo) was built in Paris in 1798 on the former site of the convent of the "Filles de la Charité". No. 2 Place du Caire, from 1828, is essentially in overall form a conventional Parisian structure with shops on the ground floor and apartments above, but with considerable Egyptianizing decoration including a row of massive
Hathor Hathor (, , , Meroitic language, Meroitic: ') was a major ancient Egyptian deities, goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sky god Horus and the sun god R ...
heads and a frieze by sculptor J. G. Garraud. One of the first British buildings to show an Egyptian Revival interior was the newspaper office of the ''Courier'' on the
Strand, London The Strand (commonly referred to with a leading "The", but formally without) is a major street in the City of Westminster, Central London. The street, which is part of London's West End Theatre, West End theatreland, runs just over from Tra ...
. It was built in 1804 and featured a cavetto (coved)
cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...
and Egyptian-influenced columns with palmiform capitals. Other early British examples include the
Egyptian Hall The Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly, London, was an exhibition hall built in the ancient Egyptian style in 1812, to the designs of Peter Frederick Robinson. The Hall was a considerable success, with exhibitions of artwork and of Napoleonic era re ...
in London, completed in 1812, and the Egyptian Dining Room at Goodwood House (1806). There was also the Egyptian Gallery, a private room in the home of connoisseur Thomas Hope to display his Egyptian antiquities, and illustrated in engravings from his meticulous line drawings in his book ''Household Furniture'' (1807), were a prime source for the Regency style of British furnishings. Hôtel de Beauharnais.jpg, Portico of the Hôtel Beauharnais, Paris, by L.E.N. Bataille, 1804 Fontaine du Fellah Paris.JPG, Fontaine du Fellah, Paris, by François-Jean Bralle, 1806 Hope egyptian room.jpg, Egyptian room design, unknown location, by Thomas Hope, 1807 Fontaine du Palmier Sphinx 240907 04.jpg, Sphinx of the Fontaine du Palmier, Paris, unknown sculptor, 1808 and 1858 Schinkel Szenenentwurf Zauberflöte Feuer- und Wasserprobe.jpg, Design for an Egyptian set for Act II of
The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...
, by
Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, urban planning, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed b ...
, 1815, watercolour on paper, Bibliothèque de l'Opéra National, Paris Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly - Shepherd, Metropolitan Improvements (1828), p295 (edited).jpg, Peter Frederick Robinson's
Egyptian Hall The Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly, London, was an exhibition hall built in the ancient Egyptian style in 1812, to the designs of Peter Frederick Robinson. The Hall was a considerable success, with exhibitions of artwork and of Napoleonic era re ...
(England's Home of Mystery), Wellcome Collection, London, by A. McClatchy after Thomas H. Shepherd, 1828 Egypt Gates.JPG, Egyptian Gate of Tsarskoye Selo,
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
,
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, unknown architect, 1829


Rise of Egyptian Revival in America

The first Egyptian Revival building in the United States was the 1824 synagogue of Congregation Mikveh Israel in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. It was followed by a series of major public buildings in the first half of the 19th century including the 1835
Moyamensing Prison Moyamensing Prison was a prison in the South Philadelphia neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was designed by Thomas Ustick Walter. Its cornerstone was laid on April 2, 1832; it opened on October 19, 1835, was in use until 1963, and w ...
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, the 1836 Fourth District Police Station in New Orleans and the 1838 New York City jail known as
the Tombs The Tombs was the colloquial name for Manhattan Detention Complex (formerly the Bernard B. Kerik Complex during 2001–2006), a former municipal jail at 125 White Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It was also the nickname for three prev ...
. Other public buildings in Egyptian style included the 1844 Old Whaler's Church in Sag Harbor, New York, the 1846 First Baptist Church of Essex, Connecticut, the 1845 Egyptian Building of the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond and the 1848 United States Custom House (New Orleans). The most notable Egyptian structure in the United States was the
Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States, victorious commander-in-chief of the Continen ...
, begun in 1848, this obelisk originally featured doors with cavetto cornices and winged sun disks, later removed. The National World War I Museum and Memorial in
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
, is another example of Egyptian revival architecture and art. Around the 1870s, Americans started to become interested in other cultures, including those of Japan, the Middle East and North Africa, leading to a second period of interest in Egyptian revival. Egyptian motifs and symbols were commonly used in the design including elements of "gilt bronze fittings shaped like sphinxes, Egyptian scenes woven into textiles, and geometric renderings of plants such as palm fronds". Some Americans in the 1880s believed that the United States was a nation without art and therefore wanted to innovate in the field of aesthetic design to distinguish it from Egyptian pyramids and obelisks, Greek temples, and Gothic spires. But implementing such innovations was difficult, and as
Clarence King Clarence Rivers King (January 6, 1842 – December 24, 1901) was an American geologist, mountaineer, and author. He was the first director of the United States Geological Survey from 1879 to 1881. Nominated by Republican President Rutherford B. ...
said, "Till there is an American race there cannot be an American style". The creation of the American style was also hindered by the fact that the ethnic mix of the American people did not constitute a race. In the time that followed, however, America's own culture was assimilating Egyptian revivalist architecture, and their tectonic significance became unstable. This may be because the United States of the early 20th century was a confident nation, and the approach of defining one's own spiritual world by establishing a connection to a great civilization like ancient Egypt faded in such a cultural context.


Other countries

The South African College in the then-British
Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...
features an "Egyptian building" constructed in 1841; the Egyptian Revival building of the Cape Town Hebrew Congregation is also still standing. The York Street Synagogue was Australia's first Egyptian revival building, followed by the Hobart Synagogue, the Launceston Synagogue and the Adelaide Hebrew Congregation, all by 1850. The earliest obelisk in Australia was erected at Macquarie Place, Sydney in 1818.


Later revivals

The expeditions that eventually led to the discovery in 1922 of Tutankhamun's tomb by archaeologist
Howard Carter Howard Carter (9 May 18742 March 1939) was a British archaeologist and Egyptology, Egyptologist who Discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, discovered Tomb of Tutankhamun, the intact tomb of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, 18th Dynasty Pharaoh ...
resulted in a 20th-century revival. The revival during the 1920s is sometimes considered to be part of the
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
style. This phase gave birth to the Egyptian Theatre movement, largely confined to the United States. The Egyptian Revival decorative arts style was present in furniture and other household objects, as well as in architecture. Egyptian Avenue Highgate Cemetery.jpg, Entrance to Egyptian Avenue of the
Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in North London, England, designed by architect Stephen Geary. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East sides. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for so ...
, London, unknown architect, 19th century Père-Lachaise - Division 4 - Poinsot 01.jpg, Mixed with
Neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...
– Grave of
Louis Poinsot Louis Poinsot (; 3 January 1777 – 5 December 1859) was a French mathematician and physicist. Poinsot was the inventor of geometrical mechanics, showing how a system of forces acting on a rigid body could be resolved into a single force and a ...
in Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, by David d'Angers, mid-19th century Main gate of Mount Auburn Cemetery - 080154pu.tif, Entry gate of the
Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery, located in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, is the first rural or garden cemetery in the United States. It is the burial site of many prominent Boston Brahmins, and is a National Historic Landmark. Dedicated in ...
, located on the line between
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
and Watertown, Massachusetts, by Jacob Bigelow Egyptian Building, Richmond, VA.jpg, Egyptian Building, part of the
Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a Public university, public research university in Richmond, Virginia, United States. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virgin ...
,
Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...
, by Thomas Somerville Stewart, 1845 Templo masónico histórico, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, España, 2012-12-15, DD 06.jpg, Sphinxes of the Masonic Temple of Santa Cruz de Tenerife,
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, by Manuel de Cámara, 1899-1902 Negustori colț cu Paleologu. -streetphotography -bucharest -windows -rusty -old (34264373636).jpg, Mixed with
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
Stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
window of the Romulus Porescu House, decorated with lotus flowers,
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
,
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
, 1905, by Dimitrie Maimarolu Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin) - Neustadt - "Maison égyptienne" (Scheyder et Zilly, 1905-1906 ) (10 rue du Général Rapp) - 52307809924.jpg, Mixed with Art Nouveau – Egyptian House (Rue du Général Rapp no. 10),
Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
, France, designed by the architect Franz Scheyder in collaboration with painter Adolf Zilly, 1905–1906 Paris 10e Cinéma Le Louxor 965.jpg, Mixed with
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
Le Louxor Cinema, Paris, by Henri Zipcy, 1919–1921 Reebie Storage building during feb 2 2011 storm.JPG, Reebie Storage Warehouse, Chicago IL, 1922, architect George Kingsley and sculptor Fritz Albert Bucharest crematorium.jpg, Mixed with Romanian Revival and Art Deco – Cenușa Crematory, mixing Egyptian Revival volumes and shapes with other styles, Bucharest, by Duiliu Marcu, 1925–1934 Père-Lachaise - Division 96 - Lang-Verte 05.jpg, Mixed with Art Deco – Grave of Lang-Verte, Père-Lachaise Cemetery, unknown architect, 1920s File:Egyptian Theatre in DeKalb Il.jpg, Mixed with Art Deco - Egyptian Theatre (DeKalb, Illinois), by Elmer F. Behrns, 1929–1930 Lift door Chrysler Building Lobby.jpg, Mixed with Art Deco - Elevator door in the
Chrysler Building The Chrysler Building is a , Art Deco skyscraper in the East Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. Located at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, it is the tallest brick building in the world wit ...
, New York City, by William van Alen, 1929–1930 File:Carlton Cinema, Essex Road - panoramio.jpg, Mixed with Art Deco - Carlton Cinema, Essex Road,
Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...
, London, by George Coles, 1930
Contemporary Revivals Contemporary Egyptian revival architecture is not as prevalent as it was in the 30s, even up to the 50s. There are two types of contemporary Egyptian Revival described here: concepts of Egyptian architecture or highly themed Egyptomania architecture. An example of an Egyptian revival architecture concept is the I.M. Pei Louvre Pyramid (1984 to 1989), although the architect refuses the correlation to the Ancient Egyptians, stating that the pyramid is a demonstration of pure form. But the public connects the Louvre Pyramid to the Giza Pyramids, which has caused controversy, almost leading to the project's cancellation. Also, researchers discovered connections of the I.M. Pei pyramids to Ancient Egyptian themes, themes like civilization. The reason for the connection is the Louvre's and Egyptian archaeology's mutual history. Additionally, the underground elements of the pyramid correlate to the underground structures of the Egyptian Pyramids, according to the same researchers. The only additional ideologies in contemporary Egyptian revival architecture are based on the philosophical and religious ideology of immortality,and within the last 30 years, Egyptian pyramid elements in cemeteries are still prevalent for that reason. Some contemporary architecture uses Egyptian revival to tie buildings to Ancient Egyptian ideologies. Some include museum exhibitions (ex., the Royal Ontario Museum train station), justice buildings to tie to ancient Egyptian justice ideals, schools to tie to their scientific progress, and tombs or shrines to immortality. In the 1970s through to the 2000s, there was some Egyptian revival because of America's re-fascination with King Tutankhamun due to the 1976 to 1979 exhibition of the king's tomb. Another revival reason for Egyptomania in contemporary architecture is mummymania. The version of ancient Egypt in movies created an interest in ancient Egypt, which led to the construction of themed experiences. The construction of themed experiences for monetization in entertainment and retail heightened in the early contemporary architecture, which brought to life the Luxor Hotel (1993, Las Vegas) by Veldon Sympson, with immersive experiences and a themed hotel experience around Ancient Egypt. Contemporary Egyptomania architecture was themed around ancient Egyptian fantasicalization, and an example of contemporary Egyptian Revival in residential architecture is Jim Onon's property built in the 1980s. Jim Onan was a wealthy American who transformed part of his property in Illinois with an Egyptomania theme, which caused controversy. The construction included an alley of sphinxes and multiple pyramids, with one being coated in 24-carat gold. An example of museum Egyptian revival architecture is The Royal Ontario Museum Metro Station by Diamond Schmitt, which was built in 2008 in Toronto, Canada. As one of the most recent Egyptian Revival Architecture, it is entirely based on artifacts from the museum, including the hieroglyphs and the sculptures. The architects consulted historians and scholars to design the station, the statue of a mummified Osiris with a king's headdress, and to replicate historical artifacts, which are all replicas from the ones in the museum, including all the hieroglyphs (based on the reliefs in the gallery). This project is intended to improve the quality of life and connect history to the community. File:Homebase - geograph.org.uk - 4066519.jpg, Mixed with Postmodernism - Homebase ( Warwick Road, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, by Ian Pollard, 1998-1990, demolished in 2014 File:Four Seasons Hotel London Canary Wharf 2010.jpg, Mixed with Postmodernism - Canary Riverside Plaza, London, by César Pelli, 1991 Las Vegas Luxor 04.jpg, Mixed with Postmodernism – Luxor Hotel and Casino in
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
, by Veldon Simpson and
Perini Building Company The Perini Building Company is a division of Tutor Perini Corporation. Founded in 1894, Perini Building Company is one of the oldest American construction companies still in operation today. Perini Building Company specializes in the construction ...
, 1992–1993 File:Modern house overlooking the Thames - geograph.org.uk - 2527920.jpg, Mixed with
Postmodernism Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, Culture, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting ...
-
Sphinx Hill Sphinx Hill () is a conspicuous, isolated black hill, 145 m, standing 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) north-northwest of Demay Point on King George Island, South Shetland Islands. First charted by the French Antarctic Expedition under Charcot, ...
, Moulsford, UK, by John Outram, 1999


Hieroglyphics

Many notable works in Britain featured attempts by architects to translate and depict messages in
Egyptian hieroglyphs Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs ( ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined Ideogram, ideographic, logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with more than 1,000 distinct char ...
. Although sincere attempts at compositions, understanding of hieroglyphic syntax and semantics has advanced since they were built and errors have been discovered in many of these works. Although both public and private buildings were built in Britain in the Egyptian Revival style, the vast majority of those with attempts at accurate inscriptions were public works or on entrances to public buildings. In 1824, French classical scholar and egyptologist
Jean-François Champollion Jean-François Champollion (), also known as Champollion ''le jeune'' ('the Younger'; 23 December 1790 – 4 March 1832), was a French philologist and orientalist, known primarily as the decipherer of Egyptian hieroglyphs and a founding figure ...
published ''Precis du systeme hieroglyphique des anciens Egyptiens'' in 1824, which spurred the first notable attempts to decipher the hieroglyphic language in Britain. Joseph Bonomi the Younger's inscriptions in the entrance lodges to Abney Park Cemetery in 1840 was the first real recorded attempt to compose a legible text. An Egyptologist himself, Bonomi and other scholars such as
Samuel Birch Samuel Birch may refer to: * Samuel Birch (Egyptologist) (1813–1885), British Egyptologist and antiquary * Lamorna Birch (Samuel John Birch, 1869–1955), English artist * Samuel Birch (athlete) (born 1963), Liberian Olympic sprinter * Samuel Birc ...
, Samuel Sharpe, William Osburne, and others would compose texts for a variety of other British projects throughout the nineteenth century including
Marshall's Mill Marshall's Mill is a former flax spinning mill on Marshall Street in Holbeck, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Marshall's Mill was part of a complex begun in 1791–92 by English industrial pioneer John Marshall. It was originally a four-sto ...
in Leeds, an
aedicula In religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion, an ''aedicula'' (: ''aediculae'') is a small shrine, and in classical architecture refers to a Niche (architecture), niche covered by a pediment or entablature supported by a pair of columns an ...
in the grounds of Hartwell House, Buckinghamshire, and as part of an Egyptian exhibition in
The Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around ...
after it was re-erected in southeast London. The content of the inscriptions varied depending on the nature of their specific projects. The Crystal Palace exhibition features several different inscriptions, with the main inscription detailing the construction and content of the hall and proclaiming it as an educational asset to the community. It ends with a message to invoke good fortune, translated as 'let it be prosperous.' Other smaller inscriptions on the cornice of the exhibit entrance feature the names of the builders and a message in Greek wishing for the health and well-being of
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
and
Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...
, members of the royal family. The main inscription is accompanied by an English translation, with the characters spaced to match the position of the English words. However, Chris Elliot notes that the translation overly relies on phonetic transliteration and features some unusual characters for words that were difficult to translate into hieroglyphs.


List of buildings


North America

* Downtown Presbyterian Church (Nashville), Tennessee; designed by William Strickland from 1849 to 1851 *
Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States, victorious commander-in-chief of the Continen ...
in Washington, D.C. * Battle Monument in Baltimore, Maryland * New Jersey State Penitentiary in Trenton, New Jersey; designed by John Haviland from 1833 to 1836 *
Medical College A medical association or medical college is a trade association that brings together practitioners of a particular geographical area (a country, region, province). In common-law countries, they are often grouped by medical specialties ( cardiolog ...
at Richmond in Richmond, Virginia, designed by Thomas Somerville Stewart in 1845 * 1826–1830: Groton Monument in
Groton, Connecticut Groton ( ) is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States, located on the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United St ...
* 1834–1835
American Institute
in New York City * 1835:
Moyamensing Prison Moyamensing Prison was a prison in the South Philadelphia neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was designed by Thomas Ustick Walter. Its cornerstone was laid on April 2, 1832; it opened on October 19, 1835, was in use until 1963, and w ...
in Philadelphia; designed by Thomas Ustick Walter; demolished in 1968 * 1836: 4th Precinct Police Station on Rousseau Street in New Orleans. Designed by Benjamin Buisson, it originally served as a jail and police station. Later altered significantly; now used by the Knights of Babylon krewe for Mardi Gras float storage * 1838:
Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope, Brooklyn, South Slope/Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, Win ...
in New York City * 1838:
The Tombs The Tombs was the colloquial name for Manhattan Detention Complex (formerly the Bernard B. Kerik Complex during 2001–2006), a former municipal jail at 125 White Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It was also the nickname for three prev ...
, a court and jail complex in New York City by John Haviland; demolished in 1902 * 1838: Pennsylvania Fire Insurance building in Philadelphia by John Haviland * 1840: Gates of the Granary Burying Ground, by Isaiah Rogers, in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
* 1842: Croton Distributing Reservoir in New York City * 1827–1843:
Bunker Hill Monument The Bunker Hill Monument is a monument erected at the site of the Battle of Bunker Hill in Boston, Massachusetts, which was among the first major battles between the United Colonies and the British Empire in the American Revolutionary War. The 2 ...
in the Charleston neighborhood of Boston * 1843: Gates and gatehouses of
Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery, located in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, is the first rural or garden cemetery in the United States. It is the burial site of many prominent Boston Brahmins, and is a National Historic Landmark. Dedicated in ...
in
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...
; designed by Jacob Bigelow * 1844: Old Whaler's Church, Sag Harbor, New York; designed by
Minard Lafever Minard Lafever (1798–1854) was an American architect of churches and houses in the United States in the early nineteenth century. Life and career Lafever began life as a carpenter around 1820. At this period in the United States there were no ...
* 1845: The
brownstone Brownstone is a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. Ty ...
entry gates of the
Grove Street Cemetery Grove Street Cemetery or Grove Street Burial Ground is a cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut, that is surrounded by the Yale University campus. It was organized in 1796 as the New Haven Burying Ground and incorporated in October 1797 to replace th ...
, by Henry Austin,
New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...
, United States * 1846: First Baptist Church of Essex, Connecticut * 1856:
Skull and Bones Skull and Bones (also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death) is an undergraduate senior Secret society#Colleges and universities, secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior-class ...
undergraduate secret society at
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
in New Haven, Connecticut (architect's attribution in dispute—may also be Henry Austin of the Grove Street Cemetery gates) * 1894: The Cairo apartment building in Washington, D.C. * 1914: Masonic Temple in Charlotte, North Carolina (1914–87) * 1914–1916: Winona Savings Bank Building in
Winona, Minnesota Winona ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, Minnesota, United States. Located in bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf (Winona, Minnesota), Sugar Loaf. The population was 2 ...
* 1920: Marmon Hupmobile Showroom in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
; designed by Paul Gerhardt * 1922:
Grauman's Egyptian Theatre Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, also known as Egyptian Hollywood and the Egyptian, is a historic movie theater located on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Opened in 1922, it is an early example of a lavish movie palace ...
in Los Angeles * 1927: Pythian Temple (New York City) * 1928: Lincoln Theatre (Columbus, Ohio); has an Egyptian revival interior * 1939: Social Security Administration Building (Washington, DC) * 1966: Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in
San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...


Europe, Russia, Africa and Australia

* 18–12 BC Pyramid of Cestius, Rome * 1798 Karlsruhe Synagogue * circa 1820: Donkin Memorial in
Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...
, South Africa * 1822: Egyptian temple in Łazienki Park in
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
, Poland * 1824: 42 Fore Street in
Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a Ford (crossing), ford on ...
, known locally as the Egyptian House, is an
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...
Grade II
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
built on the site of a former inn. A
grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop or grocer's shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday US usage, however, "grocery store" is a synon ...
from the Victorian era until the 1960s, now a restaurant. * 1825–1826: Egyptian Bridge in St. Petersburg; collapsed on 20 January 1905, but 1955 replacement incorporated sphinxes and several portions of it remains * 1827–1830: Egyptian Gate of Tsarskoe Selo, St. Petersburg * 1835–1837: Egyptian House, Penzance, Cornwall. Built by local bookseller John Lavin as a museum, it is still standing. * 1836–1840: Temple Works, a former flax mill in the industrial district of
Holbeck Holbeck is an inner city area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It begins on the southern edge of Leeds city centre and mainly lies in the LS11 postcode district. The M1 and M621 motorways used to end/begin in Holbeck. Now the M621 is t ...
in
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
, England; built for textile industrialist
John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American statesman, jurist, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth chief justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remai ...
and held the distinction of being the largest single room in the world when it was built * 1838–1839: The Egyptian Avenue and inner circle of the Lebanon Circle in
Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in North London, England, designed by architect Stephen Geary. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East sides. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for so ...
in London * 1838–1840: Temple Lodges Abney Park in
London Borough of Hackney The London Borough of Hackney ( ) is a London boroughs, London borough in Inner London, England. The historical and administrative heart of Hackney is Mare Street, which lies north-east of Charing Cross. The borough is named after Hackney, Lond ...
* 1844: Launceston Synagogue in
Launceston, Tasmania Launceston () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk River, North Esk and South Esk River, South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River, Tasmania, Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, the Launc ...
* 1845: Hobart Synagogue in
Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...
, Tasmania * 1839–1849
Thorvaldsen Museum The Thorvaldsen Museum is a single-artist museum in Copenhagen, Denmark, dedicated to the art of Danish and Icelandic Neoclassical sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770–1844), who lived and worked in Rome for most of his life (1796–1838). The ...
, Copenhagen, Denmark. * 1846–1848: Old Synagogue at Canterbury, England * 1849:
Cape Agulhas Lighthouse The Cape Agulhas Lighthouse is at Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa. At 171 years old, it is the third-built lighthouse in South Africa, and the second-oldest still operating, after Green Point. It is located on the southern edge of ...
, the second-oldest lighthouse in South Africa; also called the "Pharos of the South" * 1856: Egyptian Temple housing elephants at the
Antwerp Zoo Antwerp Zoo () is a zoo in the centre of Antwerp, Belgium, located next to the Antwerpen-Centraal railway station. It is the oldest animal park in the country, and one of the oldest in the world, established on 21 July 1843. History Since its ...
; designed by Charles Servais * 1862–1864: Egyptian temple in the park of
Stibbert Museum The Stibbert Museum () is located on via Frederick Stibbert on the hill of Montughi in Florence, Italy. The museum contains over 36,000 Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, including a vast Collection (museum), collection of armour from Eastern an ...
in
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
, Italy * 1870: The Egyptian Halls in Glasgow; designed by Alexander Thomson * 1881–1889: Mausoleo Schilizzi in
Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
, Italy * 1891: The Typhonium near Wissant by the Belgian architect Edmond De Vigne * 1899: Sha'ar Hashamayim Synagogue (Cairo) * 1902: Masonic Temple of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain * 1914: Regional Studies Museum in
Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yenisey, Yenisey River, and is the second-largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk, with a p ...
, Russia * 1919: Mukhtar Museum in Cairo * 1921: Louxor theater in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
* 1922: Collège des Frères d'Heliopolis in Cairo * 1925: AbdulHamid al-Shawarby Pasha building in Cairo * 1927: Emulation Hall,
Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung/ or ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known ...
* 1927: Mausoleum of Saad Zaghloul in Cairo * 1927– 1928: Collins & Parri's Arcadia Works for Carreras, London * 1924–1929: Lenin's Mausoleum in Moscow; designed by Aleksey Shchusev using elements borrowed from the
Pyramid of Djoser The pyramid of Djoser, sometimes called the Step Pyramid of Djoser or Step Pyramid of Horus Netjerikhet, is an archaeological site in the Saqqara necropolis, Egypt, northwest of the ruins of Memphis.Bard, Kathryn A., and Jean-Philipee Lauer, ed ...
* 1926–1928:
Carreras Cigarette Factory The Carreras Cigarette Factory (now officially called Greater London House) is a large art deco building in Camden Town, Camden, London, England. It is noted as a striking example of early 20th Century Egyptian Revival architecture. The building ...
in Camden, London * 1930: foyer of Oliver Percy Bernard's Strand Palace Hotel, London (destr. 1967–8; parts now London, V&A) * 1932: Ismailia Monuments Museum in
Ismailia Ismailia ( ', ) is a city in north-eastern Egypt. Situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal, it is the capital of the Ismailia Governorate. The city had an estimated population of about 1,434,741 according to the statistics issued by the Cen ...
, Egypt * 1933: Moussa Dar'i Synagogue in Cairo * 1934 Pyramid Theatre,
Sale, Greater Manchester Sale is a town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. It is on the south bank of the River Mersey, south of Stretford, northeast of Altrincham, and southwest of Manchester. Sale lies within the Historic counties of England, historic count ...
, UK (formerly a cinema, both independent and Odeon now a
Sports Direct Sportsdirect.com Retail Limited, trading as Sports Direct, is a British retail company owned by Frasers Group. The company was founded in 1982 by Mike Ashley (businessman), Mike Ashley and was originally based in Maidenhead, England. It specialises ...
) * 1930–1937: National Museum of Beirut * 1934: Former Perth Girls' School in
Perth, Western Australia Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
, Australia * 1937: Manly Town Hall in
Manly, New South Wales Manly is a beach-side suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is north-east of the Sydney central business district and is currently one of the three administrative centres of the Local government in Australia ...
, Australia * 1942: Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University campus in
Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
, Egypt * 1946: Royal Rest House,
Giza Pyramid Complex The Giza pyramid complex (also called the Giza necropolis) in Egypt is home to the Great Pyramid of Giza, Great Pyramid, the pyramid of Khafre, and the pyramid of Menkaure, along with their associated pyramid complexes and the Great Sphinx of G ...
,
Giza Giza (; sometimes spelled ''Gizah, Gizeh, Geeza, Jiza''; , , ' ) is the third-largest city in Egypt by area after Cairo and Alexandria; and fourth-largest city in Africa by population after Kinshasa, Lagos, and Cairo. It is the capital of ...
, Egypt * 1961:
Cairo Tower The Cairo Tower (, ''Borg El-Qāhira'') is a free-standing concrete tower in Cairo, Egypt. At , it was the tallest structure in Egypt for 37 years until 1998, when it was surpassed by the Suez Canal overhead powerline crossing. It was the tallest ...
in Cairo * 1974: Unknown Soldier Memorial (Egypt) in Cairo * Unknown: Lamati Court in Minya, Egypt


Post-Modern variants

* 1989:
Louvre Pyramid The Louvre Pyramid () is a large glass-and-metal entrance way and skylight designed by the Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei. The pyramid is in the main courtyard (Cour Napoléon) of the Louvre Palace in Paris, surrounded by three smaller pyr ...
in Paris * 1991: Pyramid Arena in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
* 1992: Cheesecake Factory * 1993: Tama-Re in
Eatonton, Georgia Eatonton is a city in and the county seat of Putnam County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 6,307. It was named after William Eaton, an officer and diplomat involved in the First Barbary War. The n ...
; demolished 2005 * 1993: Luxor Hotel and Casino in
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
* 1995: City Stars Heliopolis in Cairo * 1996: The Lost World of Reptiles, an exhibit at the Australian Reptile Park, Somersby, New South Wales, Australia * 1997: Wafi City, Wafi, Dubai City, Dubai UAE * 1997: Sunway Pyramid, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia. * 2001: Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
* 2001: Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt building, Cairo * 2001:
Scotiabank Theatre Scotiabank Theatre (French: Cinémas Banque Scotia) is a Canadian banner of Multiplex (movie theater), multiplex cinemas owned by Cineplex Entertainment. The brand was established in 2007 as part of a wider partnership between Cineplex and Sco ...
Chinook Centre in
Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
, Alberta * 2010: Sohag International Airport terminal building in Sohag, Egypt * 2010: Fairmont Nile City, Cairo * 2019–present:
New Administrative Capital New Administrative Capital (NAC) () is a New Urban Communities Authority, new urban community east of New Cairo in Cairo Governorate, Egypt and a satellite city of Cairo. As of May 2023, 14 ministries and government entities have been relocated ...
, Egypt, including
Iconic Tower (Egypt) The Iconic Tower is a mixed-use List of supertall skyscrapers, supertall skyscraper in the New Administrative Capital of Egypt. With a total structural height of almost , it is both the List of tallest buildings in Africa, tallest building and th ...
, Oblisco Capitale, The Octagon (Egypt), Egyptian New Parliament, Presidential Palace and more * 2022: Cairo Security Directorate, New Cairo, Egypt


See also

* Egyptian Revival decorative arts *
Ancient Egyptian architecture Spanning over three thousand years, ancient Egypt was not one stable civilization but in constant change and upheaval, commonly History of ancient Egypt, split into periods by historians. Likewise, ancient Egyptian architecture is not one style, ...
* Egyptian Revival architecture in the British Isles * List of pyramid mausoleums in North America * Egyptomania in the United States


Notes


References

* * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Egyptian Revival Architecture Architectural styles Revival architectural styles