Egyptian-style throne armchair in painted carved wood. The b - Lot 142

Egyptian-style throne armchair in painted carved wood. The backrest is decorated with two figures of Tutankhamen and his wife Ankehesenpaamon under the protection of the sun Aton. The openwork armrests are decorated with plant and animal motifs on both sides. The flat seat is belted with lion-head motifs at the corners. The straight lion-hocked legs rest on a circular base, joined by a finely carved recessed openwork gallery. Probably England, circa 1920. (Used condition with faded paint) 101 x 66 x 70 cm Note: This armchair was made around 1920, at the time of H. Carter's discovery of Tutankhamun's treasure, which caused quite a stir at the time. This armchair, probably made in England around 1920, is typical of the resurgence of the "Egyptian Revival" that culminated in the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb (Nov. 1922). The unearthing of thousands of objects from the tomb and international media coverage triggered a veritable "Egyptomania": motifs, colors (gold, blue, black), royal figures and solar symbols spread into decorative production - furniture, lighting, textiles and jewelry - and became a natural part of the visual language of Art Deco in the 1920s-30s. On this armchair, the composition - back "throne" with Tutankhamun and his wife under the solar disk of Aten, openwork armrests with plant and animal decorations, seat belt adorned with lion heads and lion-shanked feet - illustrates how craftsmen adapted Pharaonic motifs to familiar Western forms: Egyptian attributes are sometimes used as ornamentation, sometimes as a sign of princely exoticism on traditional armchair models. Pieces in this vein, produced in the UK and France between the wars, often borrowed gilding, painting and inlay techniques to reinforce the "treasure recovered" effect. The enduring popularity of these creations can be seen today in the decorative arts market and in collections: from neo-Egyptian armchairs to more clearly "art deco" furniture featuring stylized hieroglyphs, Tutankhamen's iconography profoundly influenced the taste and decorative production of the 1920s.