23/01/2026
Sir John Soane was obsessed with ancient Egypt. He collected Egyptian artifacts, incorporated Egyptian motifs into his architectural work, and filled his museum with pharaonic fragments. Now that same museum examines 250 years of British designers doing exactly what Soane did, returning again and again to Egyptian sources...
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The curatorial strategy is wonderfully self-aware, as visitors encounter the phenomenon while experiencing a prime example of it... The presentation spans from Regency period taste through Victorian archaeology fever to Art Deco geometry and contemporary reinterpretation, organized as recurring waves rather than simple chronology. Architectural drawings sit alongside decorative objects and , tracing how lotus columns and hieroglyphic patterns migrate from tombs to living rooms.
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By ending in 2025 with contemporary design responses, the positions this as ongoing dialogue, with each revival wave revealing something about the culture doing the borrowing...
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"Egypt: Influencing British Design 1775 - 2025: Impact Of Ancient Egyptian Culture On British Architecture And Design" at Sir John Soane's Museum in London, UK, England: 8 October 2025 - 18 January 2026
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