Regency Household: An Egyptian Chimney Front

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AN EGYPTIAN CHIMNEY FRONT The propriety of designing every piece of furniture so as to correspond with the style of the apartment for which it is destined has frequently been urged in the course of this publication and its advantages are now generally admitted because the public taste is prepared to distinguish the characteristic and leading features of the several styles of art usually adopted in this country and the eye of taste is offended when articles of furniture are brought together that have not been designed on uniform principles In the subject of the annexed plate there are four articles that were not unfrequently placed together às accident might produce the assemblage the chimney piece was bought at the mason's the grate at the smith's the frame at the carver's and the clock anywhere so that it was from Paris all ready made all differing in style and all unlike in composition and execution Instead of this melange of conflicting parts a uniform whole is now studied and propriety and suitableness are established in its place The engraving represents a chimney piece of Mona marble or verd antique and decorated in the Egyptian style The grate is designed to correspond and the clock and glass frame are also in a similar style of art exhibiting at once the advantage of designing every article with reference to the whole and to each other

This engraving and the description appeared in the 1823 book “Modern Furniture” by Augustus Pugin and J Stafford.

Napolean’s Egyptian Campaign in the early 19 century spawned Egyptomania, a fascination with ancient Egypt that appeared in fashion, literature, politics, architecture, furniture and more.  People even would have Egyptian themed parties.  This western world Egyptomania spread from Europe to the UK to the USA and would continue into the Victorian era (https://www.historyanswers.co.uk/people-politics/victorian-egyptomania-how-a-19th-century-fetish-for-pharaohs-turned-seriously-spooky/).

For furniture and home decor, the Egyptomania is often called the Egyptian Revival and was most prevalent in the early 19th century, with Egyptian motifs appearing on decorative objects and furniture (https://nicholaswells.com/egyptian-revival-furniture/).  The above chimney is a clear example of the popular “Egyptian style”.

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